The Domestic Violence Intervention Program will add more features to its shelter this summer.
By Kaylyn Kluck
Starting in July, it will be easier for the dogs and cats of domestic-abuse victims to stay at a local shelter with their owners.
The Domestic Violence Intervention Program will add three dog kennels, an outdoor run, and a cat haven to its shelter this summer. Missie Forbes, the development director for the program, said the shelter has had a safety program for pets since 2003, which helped provide care and supplies for the pets of victims.
“We’ve actually fostered everything from horses to a pig and piglets to rats and snakes,” she said. “So we definitely will have our fostering program still in place; this will just be specifically for dogs and cats.”
Forbes said the new pet amenities will take the program to the next step.
“The statistics show that 48 percent of victims refuse or delay leaving an abusive situation in order to keep their pets safe, so we knew there was a definite need,” she said.
The kennels will be constructed from a $6,000 donation from RedRover, a national animal-protection organization. Laurel Meleski, a program assistant for RedRover, said the group is trying to remove the barriers that prevent women from leaving domestic-violence situations.
“One of those barriers is that many safe places just don’t accept animals, and sometimes animals are the only comfort that these people have,” Meleski said. “They can’t even imagine leaving them behind because they know their abuser is going to use them as blackmail, is going to hurt them, and use them as a way to make [victims] come back.”
Forbes said the domestic-violence program will partner with the Iowa City Animal Care & Adoption Center, as well as local pet store, Leash on Life, to assist with volunteer training and providing pet supplies.
The program will also take private donations to help with funding, some of which may come from the Sanctuary Community Church of Iowa City. Associate Pastor David Borger Germann said Sanctuary selects three local nonprofit charities as finalists to receive a $10,000 donation every year. On Easter, churchgoers voted to give the money to the domenstic-violence program.
“Obviously, people at our church were compelled by the overall vision of the Domestic Violence Intervention Program and the good help that it offers,” Germann said.
Forbes said providing this new service is one more way for the program to provide support and advocacy for victims.
“We also know that pets can be very therapeutic,” she said. “So the clients and their children who do have to leave and come to our shelter still have the ability to have their beloved family pet there to offer comfort.”
