Good Morning Everyone!

Today’s post concerns an older story that only recently came to my attention. A couple of years ago, a Kansas City woman faced certain death at the hands of her abusive boyfriend. After an intense altercation, the unnamed man beat his girlfriend repeatedly with a hammer. With the death blow impending at any moment, the woman’s Great Dane jumped into the confusion. The dog was struck several times before being tossed out of a second floor window, along with the woman.

Both survived. However, the woman would still face a major hurdle to escape her situation. The shelter where she had made arrangements to flee could not take in her Great Dane. At least, they couldn’t in their current situation. As a survivor of domestic violence, she faced an all too common decision. Should she abandon her pet, her savior, to save herself? Or, should she become homeless, where caring for herself and her pet both become uncertain. Thanks to some extreme compassion and consideration, she did not have to make that decision, as Rose Brooks Center director Susan Miller has expanded their facility for domestic abuse survivors to include kennels for residents’ pets.

Miller’s reasoning? She cites some disturbing statistics: 70% of women in abusive relationships cannot leave their partner due to threats of harm to their pets. Additionally, 40% of women in abusive relationships will not abandon their pets to escape. Therefore, Miller’s come to understand that accommodating pets is the most sensible policy for her organization. Anyone that wishes to contribute to such a noble cause can do so @ http://www.rosebrooks.org. (full story here)