In a Violent Family Everyone Could Be a Victim

Including your family pet

Animal abuse is not just a crime and may be one of the warning signs of a violent home. Abusers frequently use pets to manipulate women’s emotions--much the same way they use the children. This is always serious.  Women are made to watch as pets are beaten, shot, strangled, drowned, or frozen to the point of death outside.  Children are also affected by this violence once they witness the violent behavior, and thereafter as they live with what has happened to their pets.

There is a recognized connection between animal cruelty and domestic violence.  National surveys conducted by various universities and the Humane Society of the United States within the past five years found, among other things, “74% of pet–owning women (in women’s shelters) reported that a pet had been threatened, injured, or killed” by their abuser.  Not only is injury to pets a form of battering behavior, it may also signal battering behavior is becoming more violent.

Take children seriously if they talk about abused animals.  They may not talk about their abuse but will talk about their pets.  Be aware of neighbor's and friend's treatment of pets.  If you notice this behavior, please report it to the police or your local animal shelter.

Visit the Humane Society Website for more information at:

The Connection Between Animal Cruelty and Human Violence