By Michelle Rivera -
[email protected]
Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a major
animal-rights organization in their hometown. Many of us have to sit by
and watch the major campaigns and demonstrations take place and wish we
could get involved in something more than letter-writing campaigns or
monetary donations.
We at Animal Rights Online have found that there are
many readers who want to become more involved in local issues but
without the support of an animal-rights organization to lead the way,
it's a little hard to break new ground. So we are introducing a
once-a-month series, the Active Activist to help you find ways to make
small but significant changes in our own area. We can be your support
system, your partners in working in service to animals. Take the ideas,
use them and start making some waves in your own community. If you need
help, just ask. We are in this together.
THE ACTIVE ACTIVIST:
How You Can Help Victims of Domestic Violence
By Michelle Rivera
In front of her horrified, little-girl eyes, a father
fries his child�s live pet goldfishes in a frying pan to frighten her
into silence, a puppy is nailed to a bedroom door to punish a woman who
reported her abusive husband; two cats are drowned in a backyard pool in
retaliation for a wife leaving her husband after he held a gun to her
head. Escaping from a domestic violence situation is a bittersweet
victory, for if s/he gets out safely, a victim of domestic violence
faces a very uncertain future.
When a woman goes into a battered women�s shelter, she
frequently brings her children with her, but not her companion animal.
This has long been a source of frustration for domestic violence workers
and the clients that they seek to serve. Studies show that 28% of the
women who call battered women�s shelter hotlines delay going into the
shelter because they are reluctant to leave their animals at home, at
risk for potential abuse. Stories abound of women and children who have
been frightened into submission and silence after what they have seen
become of family companion animals. Companion animals frequently offer
solace, comfort, and affection at a time when frightened women and
children need them the most. This is not the time to separate them from
their animals, causing their animals to face an also very uncertain
future. We need animal-friendly battered women shelters, but until we
see that, there is another way to help.
Humane societies and animal rights groups can become
involved by setting up domestic violence projects that seek to put an
end to domestic abuse where animals are concerned. The link between
animal cruelty and domestic violence is clear and presents a valuable
platform for animal-rights activists to encourage local police and
prosecutors to become involved in animal abuse cases. We, as
animal-rights activist, believe that prosecution of animal-cruelty cases
is important simply because the life of an animal is precious and has
worth, but the knowledge that those who abuse animals will go on to
abuse people in most cases should help animal advocates make their cases
to local prosecutors who may not always be of the mindset that animal
cruelty should be punished simply because an animal was abused.
Those who want to get involved in helping victims of
domestic violence, both animal and human, should approach their local
animal rescue organizations and domestic violence agencies and offer
their support and assistance. Programs need to be in place to provide a
temporary safety net for companion animals while a victim of domestic
abuse gets herself together and can find a more permanent solution.
There are programs that seek to provide a safe place for
companion animals. The cooperation of local humane societies, rescue
groups and animal-rights organizations with domestic violence agencies
is critical to answer the call of animals at risk. What can you, as a
concerned member of the community do, to help get these projects in
place and available to women in need? There are several things:
Foster homes: Due to the nature of the shelter
environment, animals who come into animal shelters are at risk for
various illnesses because their stress levels are so high. When homeless
animals come into a shelter, frequently shelter workers don�t know what
state their health is in and are very reluctant to have them come into
contact with animals who are already part of somebody�s family. Call
your local humane society and offer to foster animals for this purpose
if you can. Ask the shelters if they will provide a basic physical exam,
including deworming and initial vaccinations, flea and tick treatment,
so as to insure that the animal is not bringing anything communicable
into your home. They may also provide dog crates and vertical cat cages
for the foster parent as long as the foster parent is keeping animals.
Ask if they will provide the food and toys as well. Ideally, foster
homes should be set up throughout the county that can be called upon in
a moment�s notice to take an animal when his or her family is entering a
domestic violence shelter.
Money: If you cannot provide a foster home, see about
setting up a special fund and offer to help with fundraisers throughout
the year that can be planned in conjunction with local domestic violence
organizations. This money would be used for the purchase of dog and cat
condos, toys, scratching posts, flea/tick preventions, heartworm
prevention, deworming medication and any other supplies that would be
necessary to maintain this program. The money could also be used to pay
commercial boarding kennels if no foster homes could be found. If you
can, offer to form a grants committee and get to work finding grant
money for these programs. There are numerous opportunities not only
through animal-friendly organizations, but domestic violence foundations
as well.
Donate Supplies: The supplies that would be needed to
for such a project are cat carriers, cat scratching posts, catnip, cat
food, cat litter, litter boxes, vertical cat cages on wheels, cat beds,
and toys. Also needed are: dog crates, airline crates, leashes and
harnesses, dog chew toys (no raw hide), dog food, donations of
Heartguard (tm) and Frontline (tm), dog beds, and dog treats.
Volunteer: Volunteers may be called upon from time to
time to plan special fund raisers, events, strategies, education and
outreach to the community, and any other related responsibilities that
would help to facilitate a domestic violence project of this nature.
Volunteers may be also called upon to act as speakers about the project,
planners for a First Strike Conference, and transporters for animals
that need rides to veterinarians, groomers, or foster homes. Special
skills that are always appreciated in volunteers would be web mastering,
artists, writers, and public speakers.
For those wanting to get involved in animal advocacy at
a local level, this is certainly one of the most important services that
can be provided to local animals and the families who desperately want
to keep them safe. For more information on this issue, visit
www.hsusfirststrike.org.
Go on to Sanctuary For Sale
Return to 23 June 2002 Issue
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