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Fleeing with Fido: an Analysis of What Canadian Domestic Violence Shelters Are Communicating Via their Websites about Leaving an Abusive Relationship when Pets Are Involved

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Abstract

In response to the growing body of empirical research demonstrating a substantial co-occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and animal abuse, domestic violence shelters are increasingly offering on- or off-site services to care for the pets of abused women accessing shelter services. This paper analyzes all public websites of first-stage shelters in Canada (n = 337) to offer the first examination of what these shelters are communicating about this co-occurrence of abuse and an appraisal of what services are available to survivors with pets. The findings indicate that less than half of the websites mention pets, and only 1% of shelters report offering on-site pet programs. There are significant relationships between websites addressing the role of pets in both safety planning and help-seeking among abused women and the provision of pet shelter services. The paper concludes with suggestions for pet-related information on domestic violence shelter websites in Canada and elsewhere.

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Notes

  1. We excluded programs that exclusively deal with service animals from these tests because service animals present a very different type of concern for shelters and are governed by regulations varying across geo-political jurisdictions (i.e. in some provinces there is more emphasis placed on accommodating people with service animals).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology, Anthropology, & Criminology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

    Allison Gray & Amy Peirone

  2. Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

    Betty Jo Barrett

  3. Sociology, Anthropology, & Criminology, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

    Amy Fitzgerald

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  1. Allison Gray
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  2. Betty Jo Barrett
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Correspondence to Allison Gray.

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Gray, A., Barrett, B.J., Fitzgerald, A. et al. Fleeing with Fido: an Analysis of What Canadian Domestic Violence Shelters Are Communicating Via their Websites about Leaving an Abusive Relationship when Pets Are Involved. J Fam Viol 34, 287–298 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-0023-z

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