Opening a lifeline to protect pets

For individuals and families fleeing domestic violence situations, the shelters they turn to typically can’t take in pets as well. Often, they are then faced with the options of giving up their pet, leaving it behind or choosing to stay in an unsafe situation for the sake of a beloved dog or cat.

“We naturally as people have a bond with our pets … emotional support, companionship, they’re important to our children,” Shelby Humane Society Executive Director David Arias said. “In an abusive relationship, that bond can be manipulated in ways that are unhealthy.”

To support domestic violence organizations around Shelby County — and eventually the entire state — Shelby Humane Society has spent much of the past year developing SafePet, a program where families can leave their pets in the care of the humane society’s network of veterinarians, boarding kennels and foster homes until they’re ready to bring the pets back home again.

“It removes a barrier that allows a woman to leave an abusive home, that lets her know her pet is taken care of so she can take care of herself,” Arias said.

Through active education and low-cost spay/neuter programs, Arias said Shelby Humane has reduced its annual animal intake from about 7,200 in 2008 to roughly 5,000 last year.

“That decline has been the result of a lot of hard work that we’ve been building on to reduce that overpopulation of animals in Shelby County, and we also work with the city of Hoover,” Arias said.

With less resources spent on stray and surrendered animals, Arias said they decided to look at innovative programs from other humane societies and “ways that we can build upon our strengths and our community.” One such program is Shelby Outreach, which Arias said is targeted toward support and education for rural families with pets. This includes everything from teaching families to keep pets safe and avoid potentially dangerous situations to providing financial help for food and medical care.

“It’s an immersive situation where we’ll go kind of community by community,” Arias said.

The SafePet program was developed with the help of an animal shelter with a similar program in Georgia. Arias said they saw domestic violence shelters “doing an incredible job” in supporting victims, but they didn’t have the resources for short-term pet housing and care.

Shelby Humane partnered with SafeHouse of Shelby County, the YWCA and the Alabama Coalition against Domestic Violence to develop SafePet and make sure they can take care of pets’ needs while also protecting their owners’ confidentiality during a sensitive situation.

The humane society also hired Perry Trice in mid-May to serve as the SafePet coordinator and begin expanding the program’s reach.

SafePet has helped about five families so far. Shelby Humane Society’s partners in the project provided food, housing, medical care, vaccines and one boarding kennel even worked with a dog in their care on training and behavior. Arias said the SafePet program provides indefinite care, and so far the families have had their pets in the program anywhere from a couple days to nine months.

Arias said Shelby Humane will also pay pet deposits for families, if needed, when they move into a new apartment and return their dog or cat to their life.

“The goal is to give them the freedom to do what they need to do … and reunite them with their pets once they settle in,” Arias said.

Trice’s role is to expand the Shelby Humane Society’s network so domestic violence shelters around the area know about the SafePet program and they have a roster of veterinary clinics for short-term care and boarding kennels and foster families for longer-term housing when requests are made. Arias said special training is also needed for participating foster families due to confidentiality concerns.

Trice said he wants to “start small and refine our strategy” before expanding beyond the county. He intends for SafePet to eventually be available statewide.

Arias said Shelby Humane wants SafePet to be a complementary service to existing domestic violence organizations in Birmingham. While they someday may have a hotline, Arias said for the present they will be working mainly through referrals.

“We’re supporting what they do. We wouldn’t ever pretend to be an expert in that field,” Arias said.

More information about the Shelby Humane Society’s programs is available at shelbyhumane.org.