Animal abuse/domestic violence may be linked

A Mountlake Terrace man was prosecuted after beating his pit bull to a pulp.

Turns out, the dog wasn’t the only family member he was abusing. He was also later arrested for battering his girlfriend, said Lisa Lyons, an animal control officer for the Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace police departments.

Here’s another one: A little boy in Edmonds was found to have stuck a pencil up the rectum of a kitten that eventually died — police detected a long history of domestic violence in that home, Lyons said.

All too often, batterers punish victims for leaving by abusing or killing the pets, said Mountlake Terrace domestic violence coordinator Tammy McElyea. Also, children who have witnessed domestic violence or who have been the victims of physical or sexual abuse may also become animal abusers themselves, imitating the violence they have seen or experienced.

The Humane Society created its First Strike campaign in 1997 to raise awareness about the connection between animal cruelty and human violence and to help communities identify some of the origins of violence, predict its patterns, and prevent its escalation, said Bob Reder, regional director for the Pacific Northwest office of the Humane Society of the United States.

This connection between animal cruelty and domestic violence is very typical and is often seen by South Snohomish County police, domestic violence, prosecutors, court and animal control officials.

The experience these agencies have, McElyea said, is that people tend to get more up in arms over the abuse or neglect of an animal than when they hear about another domestic violence case against a human.

“There are red flags. People just need to watch for them,” McElyea said, hoping that folks might speak up more and sooner if they witness an act of violence against an animal. She said reporting animal abuse often leads police to violence against humans as well.

Reder said, while all people who abuse animals don’t turn into serial killers, “all serial killers began their career of violence with animal cruelty.”

McElyea, also a member of the Snohomish County Domestic Violence Task Force, recalls a case about a woman who called animal control when she saw the adult daughter of her neighbor throwing the dead body of a dog into the garbage can. If it wasn’t for that call police may not have ever been aware of the extreme abuse/neglect going on inside of the home with the elderly mother until she died.

McElyea said too often these separate agencies cross each others paths because they’re seeing the same people.

According to the Humane Society, a 1997 survey of 50 of the largest shelters for battered women in the nation found 85 percent of women and 63 percent of children entering shelters discussed incidents of pet abuse in the family.

A 1995 Humane Society study noted that 32 percent of the pet-owning victims of domestic abuse reported that one or more of their children had hurt or killed a pet. Similarly, a 1983 study noted that children were reported to be abusive to animals in more than a third of a sample of pet-owning families referred to New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services for suspected child abuse.

Mill Creek officer Mary Oftebro, who is also part of the task force, deals with much of the domestic violence cases in that city. She said along with the animals being victims, often times the pets are another barrier the victim has to not leave a violent situation. She added, Mill Creek’s animal control officer is also in the loop and is aware of the First Strike campaign.

Sometimes victims fear if they leave the animal the abuser will harm it, or the animal is used as an excuse for the victim’s rage — maybe blaming the victim for challenges regarding the animal, and other times the victims just don’t have a safe place to take the animal so they themselves can flee a violent situation.

This is why one agencies in South Snohomish County are trying to arrange places where these victims can take their animals if they’re in an emergency situation.

The animal shelter has set aside a few kennels that are reserved for domestic violence situations only. They house the animals for a certain amount of time for a little or no cost.

For domestic violence and/or animal control information call 425-745-6175. 24-hour domestic violence hotline dial 25-ABUSE. For emergencies dial 911.