Animals Suffer When Domestic Violence Hits Home

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| Print | By | January 15, 2008 5:24 PM

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This puddy says "hands are for petting not hitting."

When I worked for a Connecticut Domestic Violence service shelter, I heard some pretty terrible stories of abuse...not only between men and women, but also involving children. Unfortunately, when many couples fight, innocents become pawns, get caught in the crossfire, and the results are often tragic.

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Angela says, "Remember, never take your anger out on a puddy."

What's more, the innocents aren't always children. Sometimes they're pets. And I can't think of anything more horrendous than using either a child or a pet as a punching bag to get back at an offending partner. But sadly, with violence so prevelant (and in many cases glorified) in movies, TV, video games, and on the web, it's surprising there aren't more reports of such cruel episodes.

"We look to humans for love and protection. Please don't disappoint us," say these puddies.

Because of the overt brutality, one incident, in particular, reported recently by the ASPCA in their January 4 newsletter, really got to me. Seems a dispute between a man and his girlfriend got out of hand and both their animals paid the price of their anger. The woman, Sarah Favorite, was alledged to have beaten her boyfriend's 17-year-old cat, Yoda, over a two-day period, breaking the puddy's legs and slamming him into the floor, so much so that when the cat was finally taken to the hospital, he had to be euthanized.

What supposedly prompted this was that her boyfriend, Douglas Bolton, alledgedly punched and kicked Favorite's seven-year-old male miniature pinscher, requiring the dog to be treated for head and eye injuries.

Both Favorite and Bolton were subsequently arrested on separate charges of aggravated animal cruelty, which, if they are convicted, will result in a sentence of up to two years and a fine of $2,000.

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"I get sad eyes and wrinkles when I think of pet abuse,"says this puddy.

How sad is this, when the animals who look to us for love and protection, wind up hopeless pawns in people's disputes with their mates?

"I'd rather be in a shelter with love, than a home with violence," says this puddy.

The good news is, (and I frankly didn't know about this, but glad I found out), the ASPCA is working with legislators to enact state laws which give judges the right to issue orders of protection for pets...as well as people.

To report animal abuse, go to the ASPCA's website and look under "Report Cruelty"at: http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cruelty_report to find a number to call in your area.

Photo of two orange Tabbies by Maggie Swanson c copyright 2008