Woman's Best Friend

Abstract

Battered women seeking shelter were surveyed at intake about their experiences with pet abuse and the roles of pets in their abusive relationships. Of the women with pets, 46.5% reported that their batterers had threatened to harm or actually harmed their pets. Pets often served as important sources of emotional support during the relationship, particularly for women reporting pet abuse. Women continued to worry about the safety of their pets, especially given that many pets remained with the abusive partner. Implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations are presented for domestic violence and other professionals.