August 15, 2012

White Dog and the White Dog Army

Wonderful World Wednesday

White Dog knows first-hand the horror of domestic violence and the ugliness that dealing with its effects causes. We have a very close friend who not so long ago found the courage to speak up and ask for help out of a relationship turned abusive and threatening. It has been a long road for her heal and as part of her process she has become outspoken about the guilt and pain and shame that are hidden wounds from the violence.

She has two loving pups, a cat, a bunny and an ancient parrot and it was her fear that they would be harmed that trapped her in the situation for a long time. It wasn’t until she quietly found safe havens for her pets that she made her escape. This is true for many, and often the option of safe haven with friends is not available. Generally, shelters and sanctuaries from the violence usually do not accept pets…but this is changing and the world is a little brighter with the hope that someday more will be safe from harm as a result. Share the changes at Rose Brooks Center prompted  by one brave dog and some overwhelming statistics:

 Hero Dog Honored as New Kennels Open at Battered Women's Shelter

Update by Good News Network Wednesday, June 20, 2012 Original by Amanda Mikelberg / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS  Saturday, January 14, 2012

Every day, battered women go to domestic violence shelters in this country. But sometimes, they don't stay because they're not allowed to keep their pets with them.

Last year, a heroic Great Dane had thrown himself over the body of a woman who had been nearly beaten to death by her boyfriend who repeatedly struck her with both sides of a hammer. The dog leapt into the bloody scene, and absorbed most of the blows the man threw at them - before he threw the dog and the woman out a second-story window.

The desperate woman called the Rose Brooks Center in Kansas City, MO  where arrangements were made for the woman only - the dog, sadly, couldn't stay. But the woman, who has chosen not to identify herself, refused to abandon “her angel,” Susan Miller, the center's chief executive said. “She was not going to leave her pet alone with him,” Miller said. "He saved her life."

The dog had suffered serious injuries including a broken and hip, ribs and other broken bones, and with the woman clinging to her trusted companion, the shelter had to make an exception.

Forty percent of the women will not leave their pets, so they live in their cars or they stay. They risk their own life or the life of their children.

Another woman lived in her car for four months while waiting to get into a pet-friendly shelter.

Realizing how much a difference it makes in the lives of abuse-escapees, the shelter has added, a brand new pet kennel adjacent to the center.

“They provide so much comfort, and to have to leave that pet behind is so heartbreaking,” Miller said. “It has become abundantly clear that the incredible therapeutic benefits that pets can have on a family greatly outweigh the cost and inconvenience of housing them.”

Miller said seven out of every 10 women in the United States say they are unable to escape abusive relationships in part because the abuser threatens to harm the family pet. Two out of five women say they don't leave because they worry about what will happen to their dog.

If more shelters begin accepting furry family members, imagine the possibilities for broken lives to be mended and healthy futures to be built. Second chances. Fresh starts. Love and Support. Now THAT would be wonderful indeed.