In a continued effort to knock down barriers for women fleeing domestic violence, a London women’s shelter is considering allowing its clients to bring their pets along with them.
Anova, a London-based agency that provides shelter, support, counselling, and resources for abused women and their children, made the announcement on Twitter earlier this week. The decision to consider the policy change comes after research out of the University of Windsor found over half the women surveyed delayed leaving a violent situation out of concern for their pet.
"What the research ultimately found out was 89 per cent of abused woman said their partner also abused their pet and 47 per cent of those women said they would have left the relationship earlier if they could have taken the pet with them," said Jessie Rodger, executive director of Anova. "So very clearly the data says there is a real harm to women if their abuser is using a pet as a means of control and manipulation."
Rodger also pointed to a growing number of women calling the shelter seeking a safe space for their pet, in addition to themselves.
"We are unable to accommodate them so it leaves our team working very hard to try and find alternative accommodations for their pets during the duration of their stay," said Rodger. "Anytime someone is courageous and brave enough to say I want to leave a dangerous situation, there shouldn't be any barriers in their way for them to do that. We want to make sure that women identified folk and their children are as safe as possible and if us having a conversation about how we help and support finding safe shelter for their pets is part of that, then we want to be able to do that."
One possible solution being eyed would be to become a pet-friendly shelter that allows pets to stay alongside their owners. Another option would be to establish a fostering program that would see pets placed in a temporary home while their owner is in the shelter.
"There is lots of questions and lots of things to consider," Rodger said.
Canada has only a handful of pet-friendly shelters, and Anova officials are in talks with them to determine how they have fared since allowing dogs, cats, and other furry friends in. People who rely on Anova's services are also being consulted on the issue.
Rodgers anticipates the agency will have a new plan in place to deal with pets by the spring.
Service animals are currently allowed to stay with their owner at the shelter.
