Indiana bill would protect pets in domestic violence cases
Courier Press
January 19, 2017
http://www.courierpress.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/19/indiana-bill-would-protect-pets-domestic-violence-cases/96768198/
Local Senator Vaneta Becker proposed legislation that allows courts to give victims possession of pets.
Organizations supporting domestic abuse victims have heard countless tales of animals being harmed or used as a tactic for getting victims to stay with abusers.
Oftentimes, those tactics work. Catherine O’Connor, the president and CEO of The Julian Center said they get calls from people in violent relationships concerned about their pets at least once or twice per week. .
State Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, has proposed legislation that would allow courts to give victims possession of pets and to protect those animals. Senate Bill 314 would also direct police officers to retrieve an animal from the house for the victim after the fact.
Up to 40 percent of the time, victims said they delayed leaving out of concern for their pet's safety, according to the Beacon of Hope Crisis Center, and other studies reported higher numbers.
On Wednesday, various animal advocates and domestic violence organizations spoke in support of the bill during the committee hearing, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
"Victims of family violence are often left deciding whether to stay in an abusive situation or to go and leave behind their beloved pet," said Vicki Deisner, the Midwest legislative director for ASPCA.
She cited an example of a colleague whose father broke his beagle's legs. The mother and child continued to stay in the abusive home until the dog died.
Sandra Ziebold, the CEO of Beacon of Hope Crisis Center had similar stories. Recently they responded to an incident where a pit bull was stabbed after getting between an abuser and the victim.
"Those are accounts as a CEO of our community, but also I'm a survivor and my pet was harmed in 2002," Ziebold said. "Having had this would have been immensely helpful."
Beacon of Hope Crisis Center offers a foster pet program, but sometimes acquiring the pets either takes too long or they don't have enough foster families to take the animals. She also said the portion of the bill that enables law enforcement to retrieve the pets is extremely important, because of how often victims ask the center to help get their pets back.
Becker has worked on legislation concerning domestic violence since her initial session in the Indiana House. In 1982 she presented legislation that enabled married couples to file for protective orders, even before divorcing.
Her mom had been threatened by her father when Becker was a child, so the issue is a personal one as well for Becker.
She has never been abused herself, but understands the love people have for their pets. Pictures of her dogs sit on her desk in the Statehouse.
"If I had been in an abusive situation, I wouldn’t have left if I didn’t know that my dogs, that I could either take them with me or make arrangements for them to be taken care of," Becker said. "You know your animals are like a part of your family; it’s not just a little thing."
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