Seventy-one percent of women in domestic violence shelters report that their abuser threatened, injured or killed a pet. The fear of violence against a beloved animal can make survivors feel trapped.
The Women’s Safe House in St. Louis is working to remove that deterrent.
“Women would call the safe house crisis line and want to bring their family there so they would be safe. … They would ask, ‘Can I bring my dog, my cat, my gerbil?’ And the answer was always no,” said Executive Director Mary Ann Owens. “The women would say, ‘Then we cannot come.’ They were choosing to stay in an abusive relationship and in an unsafe home because they couldn't leave their animals.”
The domestic violence shelter is about to become one of only a few in Missouri — and the only emergency shelter in the St. Louis area — to welcome pets. With grants from Nestle Purina, the Purple Leash Project and RedRover, the Women’s Safe House is building an animal kennel adjacent to its facility. Families at the shelter will be able to visit their pets throughout the day and bring them into their rooms at certain times.
“The average stay is about six months, so we want it to be home for them,” she said. “It's going to be much more of a home if they're there with their treasured pets and able to be together as a family.”
The shelter will welcome pets of all kinds — furry, feathered and scaled — by early 2024.
Owens joined St. Louis on the Air alongside Sara Newton, who is a domestic violence survivor and an ambassador for the Women’s Safe House and Duo Dogs.
To learn more about the Women’s Safe House and the therapeutic connection between people and pets, listen to their conversation on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Ulaa Kuziez is our production intern. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
