A panel presented by Urban Resource Institute and Purina aims to change the narrative on the relationship between domestic violence and pets.
“Our hope is that one day, no individual will ever be forced to leave a beloved pet behind in order to escape domestic violence,” said Nathaniel Fields of URI.
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| A panel presented by Urban Resource Institute and Purina aims to change the narrative on the relationship between domestic violence and pets. (iStock) |
By Nikki M. Mascali, Metro
When you hear stories about domestic violence, you understandably
likely think about the victims, not the pets that may be involved.
“Pets are often an afterthought or left out of conversations about
the issue entirely,” said Nathaniel Fields, president and CEO of Urban Resource Institute
and the Center Against Domestic Violence. “The truth of the matter is
that pets play a critical role in domestic violence situations — abusers
often threaten, harm or kill their victims’ pets as a method of
exerting control, and a substantial percentage of individuals stay in
abusive environments to avoid having to leave a beloved pet behind.”
To change that narrative, URI is teaming up with Purina
Wednesday for a panel discussion at WNYC Greene Space on the
relationship between pets and domestic violence as well as ways the city
“can create an ecosystem of services that protect families, individuals
and pets experiencing abuse through human-pet co-living,” Fields said.
“Purina and URI share a belief that pets and people are better together,
and that by providing survivors with the option of bringing their pets
into domestic violence shelters, the environment becomes even more
conducive to mutual healing.”
“We know that pets can provide us with a host of emotional and
physical benefits, from reducing blood pressure, decreasing cholesterol,
reducing triglycerides and decreasing stress, to name a few," added Dr.
Kurt Venator, Purina's chief veterinary officer. "These benefits are
crucially important as an individual or family is escaping from domestic
violence and looking to heal in a safe and nurturing environment with
their pet.”
Sadly, just 3 percent of shelters across the nation accommodate pets,
something URI has been trying to change for the past five years with
its People and Animals Living Safely program. PALS has sheltered more than 100 pets in four facilities with others on the horizon.
URI will share its PALs experiences and best practices at the panel,
which Fields hopes starts a local and national conversation, especially
as URI and Purina are creating a resource-based tool kit for other
organizations interested in making shelters pet-inclusive.
“Our hope is that one day, no individual will ever be forced to leave
a beloved pet behind in order to escape domestic violence,” Fields
said.
On Wednesday, URI and Purina took a step closer to that goal by
announcing the forthcoming PALS Place. Set to open this fall in
Brooklyn, the seven-story PALS Place will be the first-ever domestic
violence shelter of its size that will be specifically designed and
outfitted for survivor-pet co-living. It will offer 30 apartments where
up to 100 survivors can live — and heal — with their pets.
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