Puppy Mills = Puppy Cruelty

As a donor who has helped make a difference in our work we wanted to share with you a new project that promises to help change the landscape for our companion animals.

Animals are caught in a cycle of violence with women and children. Perpetrators neglect, harm, or kill pets to control their human victims. But the system doesn't recognize the link so women with pets endure abuse longer, children step in to protect pets and families are forced to stay in the violence or surrender pets to get to safety. We will provide education and training to social and legal services on links between human-animal violence with new tools to protect animals and people together.

Challenge

Women, children and animals are inextricably linked in cycles of violence including domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and violent serial crime. 89% of women in shelters report the perpetrator abused their pet, 100% of serial predators commit acts of animal cruelty and 47% of women delay leaving an abuser because they can't take their pets. But the system treats animal cruelty as a minor social ill addressed in isolation leaving animals and people vulnerable to greater victimization.

Solution

CFHS will form the first national task force dedicated to building a social safety net that includes animals, supports people with pets and ensures women can flee violence with their pets at their sides. CFHS will design and deliver training modules addressing the links between human violence and animal violence for people working in child protection, domestic violence prevention, enforcement and legal services with specific tools and tactics for recognizing and addressing the link their work.

Long-Term Impact

We will offer ground breaking education and training to 144 police forces in Canada, the 627 women's shelters, ending violence professionals and social workers, veterinarians, crown prosecutors and all animal welfare agencies, directly assisting the more than 3,900 women in shelters annually who own pets flee violence sooner and keep their pets with them. No animal will be left behind to suffer in harms way of an abuser and no woman has to return to an abuser to protect her pet.

Click here to support this work and ensure no animal is left behind!