Domestic violence survivor Hazel Rios remembers how love for her three dogs helped to trap her in a cycle of violence with an abuser, who harmed her for years — at times beating her with a weed whacker, a baseball bat, chairs, 2-by-4s and even rocks.
“I had three kids and three dogs, a pit bull and two purebred Pomeranians. When I would try to leave my abuser, he would grab one or more of my dogs. So even if I left him, I would be missing my pets and always come back home,” Rios said. “I knew he was being mean to my dogs, abusing them, because he would hurt them to hurt me.”
Rios finally found the right moment about a year ago to escape with her children and her dogs, only to find that Hawaii island’s domestic violence shelter would not allow her to bring her pets. She found a pet-sitting agency but struggled to pay the costs, and eventually lost the dogs.
The loss of her animals has left a hole in Rios’ heart, though she has come far in other aspects of her life. She now has her own place, a job and is pursuing a degree in social services so that she can help other women in abusive situations. But she might have gotten there sooner if her pet challenges were addressed.
Stories like Rios’ are why Child & Family Service, known as CFS, got a grant earlier this year and will soon launch Our House of Hope: Pet Place, which will allow survivors to bring their pets to participating shelters where CFS is building pet kennels to hold them.
Amanda Pump, CFS president and CEO, said the pet program, which was funded through a grant from the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Violence Against Women, was created to remove the barrier that survivors with pets face in leaving since many shelters will not allow animals, as well as to ensure that domestic violence treatment is inclusive.
She said the agency’s other pet program partners include the Hawaiian Humane Society, Hawaii FI-Do Service Dogs and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, commonly referred to as SPCA.
“Not only will we be able to house the pets, but we’ll be able to work with the Hawaiian Humane Society to get them the vaccinations that they need, and the SPCA will also offer vaccinations and checkups for the animals,” Pump said. “Hawaii Fi-Do has offered behavioral classes because we know if pets get abused, they are going to have anxiety and maybe snarl or bark. We want Hawaii Fi-Do to come and help provide that behavioral support for the pets, and that will only increase the options for survivors to get into a house if they have a well-cared-for pet. We are super excited about that project, and I think it’s the first one in Hawaii that offers that expansive service with collaboration to help support pets.”
Direct correlation
Pump said research shows that abusers often harm pets as a means of control, or survivors are reluctant to leave abusive situations because they cannot bring their pets with them. That’s why CFS recognizes that a holistic approach to dealing with domestic and intimate partner abuse should address pets, she said.
“There certainly is a direct correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence. Animals are also used as a lever for survivors to stay in the home of the abuser,” Pump said.
She added that over the last 20 to 30 years, CFS has frequently heard survivors refuse shelter services because they didn’t want to leave a pet.
Rios said, “The new Child & Family Service program that finds kennels for pets of abused people, and helps ensure the pets are healthy, is amazing and will really save a lot of people and their animals that are being abused. It will help big time! It would have saved me an entire year of domestic violence if I could have gotten my dogs out when I first tried to leave my abuser.”
Pump said the goal is to expand the pet program over the next three years and hopefully garner enough support to keep it running, she said.
“Helping the survivor, her family and adding the pets to the equation creates an increase to the cost of services for social service providers, and most domestic violence programs already are struggling now with the cost of serving people,” she said. “It’s definitely a financial versus ethical dilemma, but the hope is that the government and donors see this need and can help ensure the whole family — including pets — can get the services they need to leave an abusive situation as they start to heal from this trauma.”
Our House of Hope: Pet Place comes as pet advocates are bringing a heightened sense of awareness to abuse against pets.
Activists on Friday stood up for abused pets by picketing in front of the Honolulu District courthouse for several hours. Their actions follow efforts by a state lawmaker and animal advocates to get Honolulu police and the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney to reopen an animal cruelty case connected to the death of a 14-year-old terrier mix named Max.
Rachelle Teruya, project manager for Hina’s Legacy, who was on the sidewalk fronting the courthouse, carried a sign that said “#Justice For Max, Max’s Call: Protect Don’t Neglect, End Animal Cruelty!”
Teruya was one of four foster moms who adopted Max after the senior dog was rescued on July 6, and tried to help him heal from his injuries. She said he died on Aug. 12, and the case against his alleged abuser was dropped Sept. 17.
“I still have Max’s blanket in the car,” Teruya said. “We want to see the case reopened. We believe there is enough evidence. We need more awareness about the prevalence of animal abuse in our community. The investigators are making strong cases and the prosecutors are not following through.”
Teruya said there is a high correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence, which also is a serious community concern.
“It’s really sad. If you look at the statistics (ASPCA research), it shows that 71% of women, who were abused, reported that their abuser threatened or harmed a family pet,” she said.
Escalating incidents
Pump said the pet program also comes as the community is grappling with rising incidents of domestic and intimate partner violence and increases in severity.
“Domestic violence impacts everyone — including businesses — and that is why it is imperative we come together as a community to fight it,” she said. “We must do this holistically.”
Pump said there has been an uptick in domestic violence and in the severity of the violence in Hawaii, according to a 2022 report from the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence called “SCARS ON THE HEART: Barriers to Safety for Survivors of Domestic Violence.
“The report showed that incidence of intimate partner violence (or IPV) in Hawaii could reach approximately 200,000 residents who have experienced IPV at any given time within the last five years,” she said.
She said 12% of those surveyed reported that they had something thrown at them or were hit with something, and some 5% had been strangled, choked or suffocated.
Pump said as a result, shelter occupancy at CFS increased by 18%, and the number of calls received by the CFS hotline increased by 16% in the past year.
Hawaiian Humane Society President and CEO Anna Neubauer said the pet program is a natural extension of its shared history with CFS.
“Our original founding, we were here to support unwed mothers, children and animals, and then we ended up as the Hawaiian Humane Society focusing our efforts on animal welfare and that was how Child & Family Service originated when they took on the human component, the women and children component,” Neubauer said.
She said the pet program is needed, and recalled a case from just a few days ago where animals were surrendered following household violence.
“The woman had visible bruising on her and said she was surrendering three animals to us because of domestic violence, which was just heartbreaking,” Neubauer said. “She didn’t want to but she didn’t feel they were safe. Oftentimes, the abuser will use the animal and threaten to harm the animal to get at the victim and they follow through with that, and so we’ve had many cases where the animal has been abused alongside the woman.”
Behavioral support
Susan Luehrs, founder and board chair of Hawaii Fi-Do Service Dogs, said the nonprofit plans to provide CFS’ clients with behavioral support for their dogs, who may be suffering from anxiety and fear too.
“We will teach them to see the signs of stress and fear in their dogs, and coping techniques,” Luehrs said. “We’ll teach them how to train their dogs, how to keep them healthy and how to prevent bites.”
Luehrs said a goal of the training is to ensure that the dogs are well behaved so that owners do not face difficulty in the shelters or in keeping their dogs once they leave the shelter.
“That’s the beauty of this program — it helps folks get their lives back without one more thing to have to worry about,” she said. “It also keeps owners and pets together, which is very healing.”
