Albuquerque Family Advocacy Center

Pets - Voiceless Victims

• To demonstrate and confirm power and control over the family
• To isolate the victim and children.
• To eliminate competition for attention.
• To force the family to keep violence a secret.
• To teach submission.
• To retaliate for acts of independence and self-determination.
• To perpetuate the context of terror.
• To prevent the victim from leaving or coerce him or her to return.
• To punish the victim for leaving.
• To degrade the victim though involvement of the abuse.

• Animal abuse exposes the deliberateness of battering rather than loss of control.
• Animal abuse and child abuse are closely related.
• Animal abuse if often a tool used by batterers to emotionally control or coerce victims.
• Threatening, injuring, or killing animals can indicate the potential for increased violence or lethality.
• Victims may postpone leaving out of fear for their pets' safety.
• Identifying animal abusers can help identify other victims of violence within the family.

• Develop an emergency plan for sheltering your pets, yourself, and your children.
• Establish ownership of the pets (obtain an animal license, proof of vaccinations or veterinary receipts in your name to help prove you own the pets).
• Prepare the pets for departure (collect vaccination and medical records, collar and identification, medication, bowls, bedding).
• Ask for assistance from law enforcement or animal care and control officers to reclaim the pets if left behind.