In their lifetimes, approximately one in four women will be victims of domestic violence. Given that more than 71 million U.S. households include companion animals as pets, it is inevitable that many of those households will experience both domestic violence and animal abuse. When domestic violence victims with pets consider fleeing abusive homes and there is no safe place to house their pets, they have little choice but to remain in their homes and subject themselves, their children and their pets to continued violence, or to flee and leave their pets behind. At the start of the American Humane’s Pets and Women’s Shelters (PAWS)™ Program in February 2008, American Humane was aware of only four shelters that actually provide on-site housing for pets.

Recognizing both the urgent need to protect domestic violence victims from further abuse and the comfort that pets provide people, American Humane started a national program to guide domestic and family violence emergency housing shelters toward permitting residents to bring their pets with them. American Humane’s Pets and Women’s Shelters (PAWS)™ Program acknowledges the richness of the bond between people and their pets and advocates keeping domestic violence victims and their pets together whenever possible.

The PAWS Program Startup Guide, written by Allie Phillips, J.D., director of public policy for American Humane, provides simple, how-to methods for starting a PAWS Program at a domestic violence shelter.

LEARN MORE ABOUT PAWS