New legislation enacted at the end of November provides pets with the same protections as survivors of abuse.
Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Act 146 of 2024 from H.B. 1210, a sort of “protection from abuse” or “restraining order” aimed at keeping pets, along with survivors of abuse from being injured, or worse. This amends Pennsylvania’s Protection from Abuse Act, granting judges the power to extend protections beyond just the survivor to include pets. Previous renditions of the Abuse Act did not provide these protections.
Data provided by the Humane Society of the United States showed that up to 71% of domestic violence victims claimed their abuser also targeted their pets. Research pointed to abusers using family pets to torment their victims, threatening to harm or kill them if the victim leaves.
“Oftentimes the family pet can be used as a form of control,” said Colleen Gedrich, a pet advocate who works with We Respect and Care’s (formerly Women’s Resource Center) Protecting Pets Against Domestic Violence program. “They can be a target to try to get the person who’s fleeing to come back,” she said, explaining that the program allows victims to “help anyone fleeing an abusive situation to flee sooner, because there’s a plan that includes their pets.” The program provides services to victims of domestic violence and their pets in both Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties.
Colleen Gedrich, pet advocate with the Women’s Resource Center, holds a cat named Manchita in the cat room of Griffin Pond Animal Shelter in South Abington Twp. Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The bill had at least 27 cosponsor representatives attached, including local state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-121, Wilkes-Barre, and received bipartisan support.
“There’s been a lot of abuse, far more than most folks realize,” Pashinski said, regarding his co-sponsorship of the bill. “To many people they’re (pets are) protection, they also provide comfort. There should be no abuse to the animals. It’s a shame to even think about that. … This is a way to try to prevent some of that stuff, and make people aware of it.”
The program that Gedrich works with helped to circumvent abusers’ companion animals experiencing extended abuse, before Act 146 was signed. The program works by providing a number of animal-related services to victims and to their pets, Gedrich said.
“We can also safe house their pets, and that can sometimes include kenneling, and we provide food and supplies … litter pans, cat food, food bowls, leashes, some things you might not think about when you’re fleeing a situation,” Gedrich said, adding that veterinary care, wellness, sick appointments, even spaying and neutering can be arranged and paid for.
Gedrich explained that, while dogs and cats are the most typical companion animals to require protection, other animals are also sometimes targeted, including ferrets, guinea pigs, and even that “ducks or chickens have been a target to an abuser in the past.”
Some victims run into complications finding safe homes with landlords who require pets to be spayed or neutered. The Protecting Pets Against Domestic Violence Plan offered by We Respect and Care removes that obstacle by covering costs for those services.
“It really helps break down barriers,” Gedrich said.
In one scenario, a victim was able to take her children and her dog when she left her abuser.
The abuser had threatened to keep the victim’s dog, and there was nothing she could do about it.
“She didn’t have an apartment, she didn’t have a choice,” Amy Everetts, director of development at We Respect and Care, explained, outlining how the victim ran into a common challenge faced when seeking a safe home away from an abuser — landlords won’t allow a dog to live on the premises unless it’s neutered.
“We not only helped her get an apartment,” Everetts said, “but helped with the neutering of her dog, so she could leave and take her animal.”
Everetts was happy to report that the family is now “thriving, doing great … and she (the survivor) and the kids are super happy, because not only were they able to leave, but were able to take the dog with them.”
Gedrich explained that she thinks Act 146 will help get abuse survivors and their children out of dangerous homes with less delay, adding that Pennsylvania was “one of the remaining few states that did not have a law formally including pets in protection from abuse orders.”
“I think people are afraid to leave their pets behind if they’re in an abusive household,” she said. “It allows them to seek safety sooner.”
Griffin Pond Animal Shelter is one of the facilities Gedrich sometimes works with to secure affordable animal care and other services for pets that must be moved with abusers out of high-risk homes.
“Griffin Pond is and has been committed to supporting individuals affected by domestic violence by offering compassionate services that help ensure the safety and well-being of both people and their pets,” said Ashley Wolo, the executive director of Griffin Pond. “We recognize the critical role pets play in many victims’ lives, and we are here to provide assistance when animals are involved.”
Wolo believes Act 146 will help move all involved forward regarding the main issue at hand: the well-being of survivors and their companion animals.
“The ultimate goal (of the act) is the safety of the pet, so the abused should have the ability to get the animal out of harms way.”