Girl Scouts & Pets Against Violence

DANBURY — Representative Girl Scout troops from Newtown, Ridgefield, and Danbury will hold a “Pets Against Violence” parade as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month beginning at 1 pm in Ballard Park in Ridgefield on Sunday, October 14. The scouts will march down Main Street, looping back to the park.

“It is so gratifying to see such commitment from our youth,” shared Melanie Danyliw from the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury. “This parade is a great kickoff to raising awareness about the complexity of domestic violence.

“There is a direct link between animal cruelty and the incidence of other forms of interpersonal violence,” Ms Danyliw explained. “Pet abuse or the threat of cruelty can be used as a tactic to control, intimidate, coerce, or intimidate a victim who is being physically, economically, emotionally, or sexually abused.

“Threats such as ‘If you tell the police I hit you, I will leave the dog out in the cold,’ or, to an elderly person from a caretaker ‘If you don’t give me your social security check, your cat goes to the pound’ can instill a great deal of fear into victims,” she said.

Studies reported by The Humane Society of the United States statistically support the correlation between pet cruelty and interpersonal violence. In one study of residents in a domestic violence shelter, 71 percent had partners who harmed or threatened their pets. In another study, 88 percent of families who had physically abused their children also had records of animal abuse.

Because an abusive personality is likely to consider pets as property, there is less stigma associated with mistreatment of animals. Therefore, the behavior is more like to be seen by the public.

“Cruelty to animals in and of itself is horrific, and should be reported,” Ms Danyliw emphasized. “But reporting becomes critical in light of this connection to violence against humans. If we all – neighbors, police, veterinarians – are more sensitive to recognizing and reporting it, intervention will help not only the pet but also its human companions – children, adults, and the elderly.”

Reports of animal cruelty can be directed to your local police department. Some signs of animal abuse include infliction of pain, neglect of food, shelter, or care, abandonment, high turnover of pets as they are killed, die from neglect, or run away. For these same reasons, pets in an abusive household may always be young, and a pet’s reaction to abuse mimics children’s reactions to abuse: relapses in training, regressive behavior, withdrawal, passivity, becoming aggressive or hostile, fear of the abuser, and running away.

For more information or training on this issue, or help in risk assessment and safety planning when pet abuse is occurring in your home, call the Women’s Center 24-hour Domestic Violence, 731-5206, or Sexual Assault 731-5204, hotlines.