Ep. 68: Leave No Tortoise Behind—Animals of All Kinds Need to Flee Domestic Violence, Too

When Bonnie's husband decided he wanted to possibly kill her, rather than, oh, we don't know, love and respect her, Bonnie knew she needed to run. But with a toddler, a three-day-old baby, two big dogs and a 30-pound tortoise in her care, finding a shelter that could help her proved nearly impossible. An estimated 70 percent of domestic violence survivors have pets, but only a fraction of domestic violence shelters have the resources available that allow pets to come with a survivor. As a result, survivors with pets stay an average of two years longer with dangerous, sometimes deadly, abusers, afraid to leave their animals behind. The nonprofit RedRover is hoping to change that, aiming to make at least 25% of shelters animal-friendly by 2025. In this episode, we hear from Bonnie (don't worry, her story has a happy-ish ending) and then from Katie Campbell, Director of Collaboration and Outreach for RedRover about their amazing efforts to make sure no pet is left behind. You might even want to consider signing up to be a volunteer (like Amanda did), support in some other way or apply for help. If you're a shelter that wants to become pet-friendly, check out DontForgetthePets.org for more info! Grassroots organizations around the country are currently helping to care for animals of survivors in danger, and your support would be amazing. Check out Praline's Backyard in Georgia, Hush Puppy Haven in Florida and Lost Our Home Pet Rescue in Arizona to start. (If you run a pet rescue org that helps DV survivors, give us a shout and we'll make sure to promote you on our socials!) Survivors in need can also check out the Animal Welfare Institute's Safe Havens mapping project which tracks all the safe havens where animals of DV victims could be fostered in times of crisis. Visit ToxicthePodcast.com for more resources, past episodes and Toxic merch, the proceeds from which go right back to organizations helping women escape violence.