domestic violence

Lenore was beaten unconscious with a golf club, as she covered her dog Chico to save his life. Susan refused to leave her violent relationship without her cat, Simon. And Sharon left her emotionally abusive relationship when her tiny puppy started receiving the physical abuse. I met these courageous women last fall at the Shade Tree women’s shelter in Las Vegas, where I was photographing a story for our magazine. The Shade Tree is one of only a handful of women’s shelters in the country that allows women to bring their pets with them. At most shelters, you can’t, and because of this, many women will stay in a violent situation for much longer… or never leave at all. They refuse to leave their pets behind in the care of their abusers, because men will often threaten to hurt or kill them. It is no surprise that domestic violence has long been linked to animal abuse… the two seem to go hand in hand.

Around the country, more and more shelters are setting up foster programs for pets, and I don’t know why all of them don’t. It is proven that women will leave an abusive relationship much sooner if they know their pets will be safe. Save more women, save more animals. Win, win. But still, shelters don’t seem to be making the switch fast enough. At The Shade Tree, pets stay in an adjacent building called Noah’s Animal House, and each day, the women can come visit their pets, and help feed and clean up after them. And having their animals there with them seems to make the women stronger. While many women will come to the shelter again and again, only a tiny fraction of those who come in with their animals ever come back. They get back on their feet faster. They heal faster. After all, there ain’t “no better psychiatrist in the world than a puppy licking your face.”