|
US homeless shelters need to be emailed this story A LOT. One of the major reasons childless women in this country cite for staying in an abusive relationship is "I couldn't find anywhere that would let me bring my pet so my abuser doesn't torture it to death the minute I save myself, and all my family/friends live in no-pet rentals."
There is a battered women's shelter literally right down the block from me. They have a lovely little playground that I've seen kids use maybe 5 times in 8 years, because (what a shock) battered women worried about being stalked are highly reluctant to let their kids run around in full view with only a short wooden fence for protection. I wonder how many more women they could save by building small dog and cat kennels next to the playground? They could use the solid walls of the kennel buildings (cats in one, dogs the other) to block view of the playground from the 2 nearest streets, and they have a huge yard that would easily fit a couple of dog exercise runs. I know money is short and animals are even harder to work with than kids, but FFS if we want these women to get out of the trap in their own heads and leave their abusers we should seriously consider the fate of their furry family members too.
|