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The Dog Who Saved Me From Abuse

October 08, 2011 • Rescue • by Guest Writer

By Shelly Lovett*

(permission granted by author to reprint, as originally ran on TheDailyTail.com)

I met Baby, a brown Chiweenie, while I was visiting the SPCA in Southern California. She had just been surrendered by her family. It was love at first sight. Her loving eyes and beautiful face just made me want to hold her and keep her. They kept her for 48 hours to spay her and check her out, and then I fetched her.

Baby changed my life from the moment she came to live with my now ex-husband and me.

At home, I was a victim of domestic violence on a daily basis. With Baby around, I finally had an excuse to get out of the house, by telling my ex I was taking her for a walk.

I went for long walks with her, which helped me be away from the stress I was submerged in day after day.

My life was hard. My ex controlled the money, the computer, the phone — everything. He didn’t give me access to bank accounts, I was not allowed to answer the telephone, I could not check e-mails, not even the mail box.

I was isolated from the outside world, including my friends and family. When I was allowed to talk to them, he sat right next to me, so I could not say much. He timed me when I went to the supermarket or went shopping. If I was a bit longer than expected, I got yelled at.

In a way, his constant emotional abuse was to me harder than any physical abuse, since body wounds heal quicker than emotions. I was walking on eggshells all the time. No matter what I did, to him it always looked wrong.

Baby kept me going with her loving personality, her wanting cuddles, her unconditional love. And the moment we had a chance, I packed up with her and ran. We found shelter with a friend, who hid us both until we could get our lives organized.

We were penniless, but I knew in my heart that all would fall slowly into place once we were safe and by ourselves.

When we arrived in San Francisco, Baby was the first dog accepted into a domestic violence shelter. Today we have our own little place we call home and are living a peaceful happy life.

Baby is the diva at the park, wearing Pooch Park Wear t-shirts and hoodies that I created.

I started dressing Baby because of the cool weather here. Soon I found that dog clothing was expensive, and I wanted her to wear clothes that reflected her attitude or the name of her favorite dog park.

That’s how my business was born. Baby is the boss at Pooch Park Wear, and I do the work. And together, Baby and I also opened our home to domestic violence survivors and their pets.

If you are in the situation we were in, know that where there is a will there is a way. Against all odds, Baby and I did it. You can do it, too.

* Shelly’s last name has been changed to protect her.

Learn more about these great products by visiting Pooch Park Wear

Because of the urgent need to protect domestic violence victims from further abuse and the comfort that pets provide people, especially in times of stress and trauma, American Humane is leading a national program to guide domestic and family violence emergency housing shelters toward permitting residents to bring their pets with them.

American Humane’s Pets and Women’s Shelters (PAWS) Program strongly advocates keeping domestic violence victims and their pets together whenever possible. And the organization is working towards implementing a PAWS Program in every domestic violence shelter throughout the United States.

The PAWS Program Startup Guide provides simple, how-to methods for starting a PAWS Program at a domestic violence shelter. If you’d like to help American Humane implement a PAWS Program where you live, contact American Humane. If you are in an abusive relationship and need help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233    or       1-800-799-7233

 

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