Jodie’s DV Survivor Story
April 4th, 2025
By Savannah Verdon, Development Manager –
Content warning: this article contains descriptions of animal abuse.
Jodie* had three cats. Rather, she had a cat, and each of her two children had their own cat. Their dog, Holly*, perfectly complemented the balance between the three cats, Lady*, Snookie*, and Tweety*, and their respective humans.
Despite being the lone dog, Holly was fortunate; she was never the abuser’s target. Lady, Snookie, and Tweety had grown fearful of males because they had been hit and thrown against the wall at home so many times. After witnessing and suffering so much violence, the whole family had become shadows of the joyful, playful souls they once were. But try as they did, the abuser could do nothing to destroy the bonds between Jodie, her children, and their pets.
Afraid for her family’s lives, Jodie began to plan their escape. She wasn’t going to leave Holly, Lady, Snookie, or Tweety behind; she would find somewhere safe for her children and stay behind with the pets if that was all she could do to protect them. If he would be so cruel as to hit and throw the cats in front of her, she couldn’t bear the thought of what he would do to them once she was gone. She made it a priority – a nonnegotiable – that they all be safe together. And when the moment came, all seven left the abuse behind.
With the money she had saved while she planned her escape, Jodie could board her pets for just a few days while she and her children stayed in the domestic violence shelter. She realized almost immediately after leaving that it would be more than a few days before they could move on to the next chapter of their lives together, and she had not planned for that. She wasn’t even sure how much longer it would be, just that healing was as much of a priority as practical matters like finding a new home for them to share – and Jodie couldn’t attend to any of that if her entire family still wasn’t safe.
After explaining to her advocate that Holly, Lady, Snookie, and Tweety “mean everything to them and are their safety and comfort,” Jodie didn’t settle until they had worked out a solution to protect all of her family. With a RedRover Relief Safe Escape grant, all four pets remained safely boarded, even as Jodie’s healing and search for a new, safe home took longer than expected. Their grant didn’t just keep the pets boarded, it also covered the costs of vaccines and check-ups with the veterinarian to keep them healthy and ensure their next chapter would start on the right foot. While it had been far more than just a few days, Jodie and her children eventually reunited with Holly and their cats on their way to their new home, where there was no reason to be fearful.
Having reunited another family, Jodie’s advocate observed that “People underestimate how much pets mean to their owners and how often survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault stay with abusers to ensure their animal’s safety and well-being.” In fact, nearly half of survivors stay with abusers rather than leave their pets behind, making the Safe Escape grant program truly lifesaving – and you, a lifesaver. Thank you for protecting the bonds between Jodie, her children, and their pet family and being there for survivors in their moment of need!
*Names have been changed to protect privacy