Comforting Companions

Shelter helps women and their pets escape violence

Staff Photo KEVIN KINDER Milky Way has been staying at the Peace at Home Family Shelter for more than six weeks. Animals at the shelter stay in the rooms with their owners, and in the past year the shelter has housed a snake, a gerbil and many more animals alongside their human residents.
Staff Photo KEVIN KINDER Milky Way has been staying at the Peace at Home Family Shelter for more than six weeks. Animals at the shelter stay in the rooms with their owners, and in the past year the shelter has housed a snake, a gerbil and many more animals alongside their human residents.

Staff members at Peace at Home Family Shelter hear a lot of terrible tales of abuse and violence. But one story Teresa Mills remembers well brought all of them to a halt.

A woman's abusive partner was sending her text messages. They showed images of him systematically torturing and killing the woman's horses.

Fast Facts

Peace at Home

For more information, call the Peace at Home Family Shelter at 444-8310 or visit its website at peaceathomeshelter.…. The shelter’s 24-hour crisis hotline can be reached 442-9811 or toll free at 877-442-9811.

No one could believe it was happening, Mills, shelter chief executive officer, said.

"We all just stood there," she said.

But they didn't stand around for long. The shelter learned a lesson from the event, forming a policy that cared for the pets of domestic violence victims.

"It created some momentum for us and for our leadership," Mills said. "We have an obligation to address this to the best of our ability."

A resulting policy now allows pets on the Peace at Home grounds and in the residence areas alongside their owners. In creating the policy, the shelter became one of just two domestic violence shelters in Arkansas that simultaneously protects survivors and their pets.

A Deciding Factor

Research shows women are up to 40 percent more likely to stay in an abusive relationship for fear of leaving their pets behind. Locally, Mills said about 10 to 15 percent of those who call the shelter also ask about accommodations for their pet or pets.

"That's a factor in their decision making," Mills said.

Mills and other staff members at the shelter have heard stories of abuse, and abusers often attempt to regain control by damaging or hurting things dear to the victim. In many cases, that's a pet, and the tortured horses aren't the only time Mills has heard a horror story regarding a beloved family pet.

That's the case for Milky Way, a snorkie -- that's a cross between a schnauzer and a yorkie -- that's been living on the grounds for about six weeks. Her owner, Ilona, agreed to share her first name and part of Milky Way's story. Milky Way got between Ilona and her former partner, a situation Mills says she often hears from victims. Milky Way doesn't stand more than a few feet off the ground fully extended, but she tried her best. Ilona says Milky Way got hurt in the incident. The dog still distrusts men, particularly those who wear glasses and have short hair.

It's a national problem, said Gina DiNardo, spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club's Humane Fund, which provides grants to domestic violence shelters that care for pets. Indeed, a Humane Fund grant provides money for Peace at Home's pet-friendly efforts.

DiNardo said that 70 percent of domestic violence victims simultaneously report that their abuser either injured, threatened or killed a family pet. The Humane Fund's grants, which result from public donations, prove there is a need for pet-friendly shelter services, DiNardo said.

"They shouldn't have to worry about leaving a pet," she said.

Side By Side

Instead of a designated kennel area behind the shelter complex, Peace at Home's leadership decided to "embed" the animals. Already set up as a family-style environment where a victim can stay with her children, it made sense to simply add the pets to that situation. So dogs get a dog bed, or a snake gets a little shelf space, in the same room as the family who owns them.

As they drafted the now year-old pet policy, Peace at Home officials met with veterinarians to determine what the shelter could safely accommodate. The shelter allows two four-legged animals -- cats or dogs -- on the premises at any one time, split among the nine family rooms at the complex. An additional number of caged animals can stay on the grounds at the same time. Peace at Home has since become a temporary home to several dogs and cats, a few gerbils and a snake.

For most animals, Peace at Home has food at the ready. In the case of the snake, staff members had to buy mice to keep it fed. Incoming animals are screened for health, and through the AKC grant, those needing immunizations are provided with them. If the shelter is full of animals when an emergency situation arises, shelter staff members partner with area kennels and veterinary offices that can take on an animal for free or very little cost for a few days until a spot opens. As a short-term emergency shelter, Peace at Home residents and their animals can stay stay at the facility for three months or less, with an average of 45 to 60 days. Mills said that's plenty of time for the staff members there to get attached to the animals.

Other shelters may make arrangements for animals, and they can help coordinate the kenneling of pets. And some shelters take animals that are trained service dogs, Mills said. The important part is that animals should not be a barrier to a woman making the decision to leave an abusive situation.

Just Like Home

The shelter's staff had their concerns about the program as it went into effect. Specifically, there were worries about distractions and how the concept might work with those in the facility with pet aversions or allergies.

There's yet to be a problem, Mills said. In fact, it's been a boon for everyone involved. The idea of a recovering family playing in a yard at the shelter has been a calming influence.

"It became a form of therapy in a very normalizing way," Mills said, because one fewer concern for the victims at the shelter is one quicker step toward their healing process. And that's the future for Peace at Home.

"I really believe we have women who have come to the shelter who wouldn't otherwise," Mills said. "We can't go back now."

NAN Life on 11/12/2014

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