Pet Safe Program for Both Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse

PET SAFE PROGRAM TO SHELTER PETS FROM ABUSE

Winston Parsons suffered three broken ribs in January when the man he had lived with for two years assaulted him.

Parsons, whose name has been changed for his protection, returned to the relationship when his partner promised to get counseling. His partner did not follow through on that promise and a few months ago assaulted Parsons again.

This time, Parsons went to the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County for shelter. He also accepted the center's offer to find a place for his cat to stay. The center does not allow animals, and the cat would not have been safe with his former partner, he said.

"It started with me, but it was leading toward the cat. There were jokes road-kill jokes," he said.

At first, Parsons' cat stayed with a Columbia veterinarian, Dr. David Tayman. Parsons visited his pet regularly, and continues to do so now that a Domestic Violence Center staff member is watching the cat.

Tayman and the Domestic Violence Center, meanwhile, are exploring the possibility of expanding and formalizing a shelter program for pets in abusive situations. The program, to be called PetSafe, would be modeled after a handful of similar projects in other states.

Tayman has now found a site and is renovating the location to serve as a PetSafe center for central Maryland.  This locations will serve to house pets at no charge for both Domestic Violence and  Grass Roots (an organizations assistance homeless people).   Donations are needed to assist in the renovation and maintenance.  Please call Dr. Tayman at 410 730 2122 for information.

Such programs can help save human as well as animal lives, said organizers, who point to a connection between domestic violence, child abuse and animal abuse that experts call "The Link."

"It's not as simple as dad hitting mom, mom yelling at the kids, and the kids taking their anger out on the dog. Animal abuse in violent homes can take many ugly forms," according to an essay written by Phil Arkow, chairman of the California-based Latham Foundation's Child and Animal Abuse Prevention Project.

In some cases, abusive parents kill or threaten to kill pets to coerce children into sexual abuse or into remaining silent about abuse, he wrote. In other cases, battered partners hesitate to leave violent homes because there is no one to take care of their pets, or because they are afraid their pets will be abused.

"It really interferes with a victim's ability to make a getaway," said Judy Clancy, executive director of the Domestic Violence Center. "We've worked with women who have gotten beaten up or have wound up at the hospital because they're still trying to work out a safety plan for themselves and their pet."

The Baltimore Police Department, which writes a report and follows up on each domestic incident it investigates even a loud argument requires its officers to look for signs of animal abuse. That is not standard procedure in Howard County, said police spokesman Sgt. John Superson.

"If you do go into a home and see something like this occurring, an experienced officer would know to look further," said Col. Margaret Patten, chief of the Baltimore police research and development bureau and coordinator of the department's domestic violence efforts.

City police recently applied for $100,000 to provide care for pets from families where abuse has occurred. While they did not get the grant, they remain committed to integrating their domestic violence, child abuse and animal abuse investigations, Patten said.

As a result of publicity surrounding the grant application, she has put together a network of volunteers willing to shelter cats, dogs, ferrets and snakes or even a horse, if necessary.

Tayman, the Columbia veterinarian, said he learned more about "The Link" when a cherished employee of 10 years, Vera Case, was murdered two years ago. Her husband then committed suicide.

"She was in an abusive situation, and she had a dog, Sunshine," Tayman said. "Was she with her husband because of the animal? The answer in that case was no." She had actually left her husband and began a life of her own. Just after leaving him, he came to her newly purchased house and committed his cowardly act while she was sleeping.

On the other hand, he said, "I realized I have had, over the years, clients who were abusive to their pets."

In one case, two children broke a puppy's legs, apparently deliberately. In another, a husband threw a dog against a wall, breaking its neck. He and his wife "were very up front about it," Tayman said. At that time domestic violence organizations were not available.

Most recently, a father with his children watching shot a family dog in the leg.   He was prosecuted by the Howard County,  MD. courts.

Tayman said he did not know anything about the Domestic Violence Center until its representatives called on him after Case was killed.

He has since joined the center's board and participated in its annual candlelight vigil for abuse victims. He also began looking into pet- shelter programs about a year ago.

"I thought it was a need. I just thought about it with Vera, and what she went through with Sunny," he said.

His research led him eventually to Marie Suthers- McCabe of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, Va. Suthers-McCabe moved to Virginia in July after starting a pet-shelter program in Columbus, Ohio. She has been promoting such programs in Virginia and spoke at the 800-member Maryland Veterinary Medical Association's annual meeting in Bethesda, Maryland last month.

"I think everywhere there's a woman's safe house there needs to be a safe-pets program," Suthers- McCabe said.

Her involvement with the issue began almost accidentally three years ago when she visited a women's shelter in Ohio to donate some clothes, she said.

"I asked the question, 'What do you do when women have pets?' The director walked around the desk and hugged me, she was so appreciative," Suthers-McCabe said. "I ended up saying, 'I'll help you set a program up.' "

One of the first things she did was help the Ohio shelter revise its questionnaire for clients. It now asks if they have pets, if they have seen the pets abused, and if they fear for the pets' safety, she said.

"We got incredible results, shocking results, showing abuse," Suthers-McCabe said.

Next, with $60,000 in grants from nonprofit organizations, her group added a kennel to the local detention center.

When they hear about the proximity of the kennel to the detention center, everyone asks the same question, "What were you thinking?" Suthers-McCabe said. But combining security with an opportunity to educate prisoners makes sense, she said, adding that she hopes the kennel's operating costs will be covered by donations.

Starting such a program is more complicated than it might seem, Tayman,Clancy and Suthers-McCabe said. It raises lots of questions, including how one prevents an abuser from claiming a pet, and what to do if a victim returns to her abuser and wants to bring her pets.

"A lot of times, pets become even more important in a person's life when they're in a stressful, abusive relationship," Clancy said.

As a veterinarian and a member of her center's board, Tayman understands that. In addition, because of his respect for Case's memory, there's no doubting his commitment, she said. He's "kind of the ideal person" to start a PetSafe program, Clancy said.

To get involved in a program to help protect pets from abusive situations in Howard County, MD call the Domestic Violence Centert (410) 997-0304.

Columbia Flier/Howard County Times 10750 Little Patuxent Parkway Columbia, MD 21044 (410) 730-3990