The Women’s Safe House aims to help abuse victims stay safe by welcoming their pets

Seventy-one percent of women in domestic violence shelters report that their abuser threatened, injured or killed a pet. The fear of violence against a beloved animal can make survivors feel trapped.

The Women’s Safe House in St. Louis is working to remove that deterrent.

“Women would call the safe house crisis line and want to bring their family there so they would be safe. … They would ask, ‘Can I bring my dog, my cat, my gerbil?’ And the answer was always no,” said Executive Director Mary Ann Owens. “The women would say, ‘Then we cannot come.’ They were choosing to stay in an abusive relationship and in an unsafe home because they couldn't leave their animals.”