ASPCA Education: Resources: Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse

By Robyn Watts, Esq.

"Dog Dies in Hi-Rise Plunge; Nab Owner's Ex-beau" read the headline in the New York Daily News last May. New York City papers covered this shocking story of an abusive man who took revenge on his ex-girlfriend by throwing her beloved little dog out the window of her high-rise apartment building. Unfortunately, this story and others like it are neither shocking nor news to the ASPCA and its Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) officers.
HLE officers have found that when an animal is in a home where domestic violence takes place, the animal is almost always abused as well. "We see a connection between animal abuse and domestic violence all the time," says HLE Special Agent Diane DiGiacomo. "For example, we'll go out and investigate a complaint of animal abuse and find that the children have already been removed from the home for maltreatment." In recognition of this connection, HLE officers are mandated by New York State to report any suspected child abuse they may uncover during their animal welfare investigations.

The Power of Abuse
"It's very common for an animal to be caught up in whatever violence is going on in the home," says Susan Urban, a certified social worker with the ASPCA's Counseling Services. "While there haven't been any large studies conducted yet, numerous small studies have indicated that in homes where battered women keep animals, anywhere from 70 to 80 percent of the animals have been abused or threatened with abuse," she says. Urban explains that animal abuse accompanied by domestic violence differs from other animal abuse. "In the straightforward cases of animal abuse, the abuser is taking something out on the animal. In domestic violence, however, the perpetrator often uses the animal to hurt a particular person - usually the person who loves and cares for the pet. The animal is abused in order to intimidate, harass or silence the vulnerable person. In effect, the message the perpetrator is sending is, 'Look what I can do to your animal, and imagine what I can do to you,'" she says.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to investigate and prosecute this type of animal abuse for the same reason that it's difficult to do so for domestic violence. DiGiacomo says the animal victims can't report the abuse, and the witnesses are both terrified of the abuser and under their control. Not long ago, however, DiGiacomo and her partner, Special Investigator Annemarie Lucas, convinced one reluctant abused woman to come forward and report a tragic case of animal abuse.

No Fairy-Tale Ending
In September 1999, DiGiacomo and Lucas responded to a complaint of animal abuse in Brooklyn, New York. The individual who reported the abuse, Ruth*, told the investigators that her boyfriend, John*, had given her a little gray kitten - not more than eight weeks old - as a gift. The kitten, named Tinkerbell, was "so small that she fit in the palm of your hand," says DiGiacomo. But John quickly became jealous of all the attention Ruth was giving the cat. When one day Ruth refused his sexual advances, John snapped. In a rage, he snapped Tinkerbell's neck in half, killing her instantly. He threw the kitten's body at Ruth's feet and shouted, "Next time it will be you!"

Even though Ruth told DiGiacomo and Lucas the details of the incident, she was too afraid to sign a complaint against John. She also told the officers that she and John had reconciled and he had given her a new bird to make up for what he had done. The agents warned Ruth that John might strike again if she didn't act this time. After some coaxing, Ruth agreed to file a formal complaint against John. As a result of Ruth's action, John was charged with animal cruelty, criminal mischief, assault, menacing and harassment. He pled guilty, and received a sentence of probation, for which he had to attend a domestic violence program and participate in the ASPCA's Animal Cruelty Intervention program - overall, a disappointing sentence for such a cruel act.

The good news is that in November 1999, just a few months after Tinkerbell's death, animal cruelty became a felony crime in New York State. Today, the punishment for a crime like John's could be more severe and might even include some jail time.

For more information about the link between animal abuse and domestic violence, please contact the ASPCA's Counseling Services department at
(212) 876-7700, ext. 4355.

*Names have been changed.

Robyn M. Watts. Esq., is a consultant on issues of animal rights and animal cruelty.