ATHENS, Ohio — My Sister’s Place, a local domestic violence shelter, helps to eliminate a common barrier to escaping abusive situations: It offers shelter for pets, too.
“There was a high percentage of people who were trying to leave abusive relationships who felt like they couldn’t because they didn’t have anywhere to go with their pets,” said My Sister’s Place Executive Director Kelly Madewell. “We had people every year who called the hotline and didn’t feel like they could come into shelter because we didn’t have any accommodations for their animals.”
In fact, the National Domestic Violence Hotline found that approximately 97% of domestic violence survivors say keeping their pets with them was a deciding factor on whether they would seek shelter. But only 15% of U.S. domestic violence shelters can accommodate pets, according to a 2022 United States Dog Agility Association study.
Starting the My Sister’s Paws program nearly a decade ago “was just an effort to reduce that barrier,” Madewell said.
Madewell said the community rallied around finding a way for My Sister’s Place to integrate an animal shelter into their accommodations.
“People really kind of stepped up and helped us to start the program,” she said. “We had some people in the community who helped research funding for a kennel and somebody else who had worked with shelters on the paperwork that was involved.”
The Athens News reported in 2013 that Shelley Lieberman, owner of Friendly Paws Pet Supplies and Grooming, reached out to My Sister’s Place to create a program like one she knew of in the Cleveland area. Lieberman organized the annual Dog Swim and other fundraisers to support the program.
The program can currently accommodate up to three dogs, but strives to include many types of animals, including cats, guinea pigs and even farm animals, Madewell said.
“If we have a bed for them and we have space for their animals, then they can bring them in,” Madewell said. “I remember years ago, there was somebody who needed help with a horse — or even a llama.”
Shelter residents are responsible for taking care of their pets, with strict guidelines about keeping animals isolated from the general residency of the shelter.
“Sometimes, people are struggling with mental health challenges, and so we have folks who struggle to keep up with the care of their animal, but we always figure it out,” Madewell said. “We have conversations about it sometimes where we ask people, ‘Would it lessen the stress on you if your animals stayed somewhere else for a while?””
No matter what, Madewell said the program successfully overcame these barriers.
According to Madewell, one of the shelter’s persistent goals is to secure stable funding, as the program can incur high costs from vet bills and maintenance costs.
The program’s main funding currently comes from the Athens-based Behavior Analysis Reform for Companions, and BARK, a dog food and toy company in Columbus.
“BARC has helped us with supplies, dog training and guidance when we have questions,” Madewell said. “And BARK in Columbus has made several donations of pet food.”
The program also frequently partners with local organizations, such as Devil’s Kettle’s Pints for a Purpose or Friendly Paws Pet Supplies & Grooming, to raise money.
However, Madewell said, the shelter could always use donations or community support.
“Donating supplies or funds just to keep the budget up is super helpful,” she said. “We’ve also had a couple of people who have fostered animals and it’s been incredibly helpful, so that would be a way to volunteer.”
Madewell said that the program has continued evolving to adapt better to residents’ needs over the last 10 years.
“I think we’ve kind of fine-tuned the program based on our experiences,” she said. “We’ve made some changes to the kennel itself. I think one thing we learned early on is that some of the animals who come to our kennel have experienced trauma themselves and sometimes act out because of it so we’ve had some damage to the kennel that we weren’t expecting.”
Moving forward, she hopes to increase the shelter’s ability to help ex-residents now living on their own.
“Ultimately what we would like to do is to be able to help people who have moved out of shelter and are living on their own,” Madewell said. “Pet things can be very expensive, vet bills and such, so we would like to be able to support former residents more than we are. We’re just needing to prioritize who’s here with the funding we have for now.”
To Madewell, the most rewarding part of operating the My Sister’s Paws shelter is seeing the difference it makes in womens’ lives.
“I mean, people are just really grateful to be able to bring their animals. It has been a great experience to be able to try to help,” she said. “Having your animal nearby is really important for their mental health, so I’m grateful that we’ve been able to figure it out, and that we can offer that to people so it’s no longer a barrier.”
If you or somebody you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the My Sister’s Place hotline at 1-800-298-7233 to seek help.
This story was updated at 12:55 p.m. Dec. 9 to include information about Shelley Lieberman’s role in launching My Sister’s Paws.
