Fostering Change for Pets and People Entangled in Domestic Violence Situations

 We're honored to welcome Dr. Hillary Pearce, a true trailblazer in the quest to protect pets caught in the crossfire of abusive homes. Our latest Veterinary Vertex episode paints a portrait of hope and resilience, detailing Hillary’s ground-breaking initiatives from her vet student days at Michigan State University to the sustainable programs she's nurtured at Hill's. Discover the profound impact these safe haven programs have on both human and animal lives, and learn about the unique challenges, including the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on fostering efforts. Hillary's unwavering commitment shines through as she recounts the sobering reality that pets often tether victims to perilous situations, yet her work lights a path to safety for those most vulnerable.

Amid the complexities of such emotional topics, we delve into the rigorous training needed for veterinarians to deftly navigate these waters and offer a lifeline within their practice. Hillary imparts her wisdom on weaving resources into the fabric of veterinary clinics to discreetly assist domestic violence victims, emphasizing the significance of subtle gestures of support. We round out this powerful conversation with a call for community action. Whether you’re inspired to foster, volunteer, or contribute to these life-saving services, this episode is a testament to the collective power we hold to create change. Join us in this heartfelt exchange that goes beyond the scope of veterinary medicine and speaks to the core of human—and animal—kindness.

Open access article: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.23.12.0716

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Transcript

Sarah Wright: 0:00

You're listening to Veterinary Vertex, a podcast of the AVMA Journals. In this episode we chat about as a novel corporate community partnership model of a domestic violence safe haven program for pets, with our guest Hillary Pearce.

Lisa Fortier: 0:19

Welcome to Veterinary Vertex. I'm Editor-in-Chief, Lisa Fortier, and I'm joined by Associate Editor, Sarah Wright. Today we have Hillary joining us. Hillary, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to be with us here today.

Hillary Pearce: 0:32

Thank you so much for having me, Lisa and Sarah.

Sarah Wright: 0:36

Let's learn more about how veterinarians can help the pets of domestic violence victims. Hillary, your JAVMA article discusses a novel corporate community partnership model of a domestic violence safe haven program for pets. Please share with our listeners the background on this study.

Hillary Pearce: 0:54

Yeah, absolutely so. To go really far back, I started a similar program to provide temporary, safe foster housing to the pets of domestic violence victims when I was a vet student at Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, and it was an amazing experience. I had no idea what I was doing. I had to figure it all out from scratch. There were a few, if any, resources then and we made it work with the amazing support of the university. We had a program. Unfortunately, after I graduated and some of the other staff who were heavily invested in it moved on. The program itself didn't continue on.

Hillary Pearce: 1:40

So when I was at Hills and wanted to look into forming a similar program, I was part of our women's employee resource group and we started discussing this.

Hillary Pearce: 1:50

It was really important to me and to us to make sure that the program could sustain itself beyond any individual person.

Hillary Pearce: 1:59

So we built the program with that in mind, to make sure that we had really clear protocols and procedures and roles and responsibilities in place, to make sure that the program was self-sustaining and bigger than any one individual on either our side at Hills or the side of the domestic violence shelter. So, we worked really hard and built the program little by little, with everybody's needs, and got it up and running after several years of hard work, and then, of course, wanted to evaluate how it was going. What were our learnings after the first year and a half or so and what could we use to make the program even better? And, really important to us, how could we help others who wanted to start similar programs or help domestic violence victims with their pets in their area? Because, again, even though it was gosh close to 15 years later, there still weren't that many resources out there. So that was really what inspired us to do this study and evaluate the program on top of it

Sarah Wright: 3:12

Wow, what a great program to have started and continue onward too, into your professional life. So thank you so much for sharing the findings of this with JAVMA. Yeah of course, and what were some of the pivotal findings from this study?

Hillary Pearce: 3:26

Yeah, so interestingly, partway through the development of the program, as we were getting ready to launch, covid hit, which of course nobody could see coming.

Hillary Pearce: 3:36

And I think had we started the program during a different era, maybe our learnings would have been slightly different, maybe not, we have no way of knowing.

Hillary Pearce: 3:45

But we were able to determine, at least in our locale and I think it's important to state that because we can't necessarily generalize all the findings to every region of the country of the world but we were able to determine in our community what types of pets were the most likely to need help, what were the challenges to getting them into safe housing while their owners were seeking their own safe housing, and what were the barriers to keeping the program running easily running and running smoothly. And so we were able to get the demographics of the pets and the owners who might need help. And again, that was really based in the Topeka Kansas area, might be different in other places. And one of the main barriers and challenges that we found was recruiting foster homes, and whether that would have been as difficult without COVID I don't think we would be able to know, but it remains to be one of the bigger challenges that we face still.

Lisa Fortier: 4:45

Hillary, you talked about starting a similar program at MSU when you were a veterinary student and carrying this onto Hills. Obviously, this is a deeply embedded passion for you. What sparked this interest in establishing safe haven programs for pets?

Hillary Pearce: 5:00

Yeah, I was actually just trying to think of that one when I was talking about the original program, and I truly can't remember what my original kind of spark of inspiration was. As a vet student, I have always been very passionate about protecting girls and women, violence against women, making sure that the world is a safe place for everybody, and I don't think I knew what it was called then, but what we now refer to as the one welfare concept, this idea that we can't have the welfare of people without the welfare of animals, and even the planet in that as well, which may not be as big of a focus for this particular project, but that's always really spoken to me, that it's not a zero sum game. It's not either or we don't elevate the welfare of animals and in the process, make people's lives worse, or vice versa. So this really stuck out to me, as when I learned the facts that approximately 41% of domestic violence victims delay leaving their abuser because they don't have somewhere safe for their pet to go, that statistic really shocked me that that's such a high number, and so that was you know where I thought well, this is an area where we can help if they just have somewhere for their pet to go. Then hopefully they can seek safe housing.

Hillary Pearce: 6:26

Earlier, MSU was a really unique university in that we had a domestic violence shelter on campus as part of the university holdings At the time. I think it may have been the only one like that. I don't know if that's changed now, but it was a big part of the university culture and community. We all knew that that was there, so it just felt like it went hand in hand for us at the vet school to partner with them and help out.

Lisa Fortier: 6:51

That's a great story. 41% is certainly a resonating number.

Hillary Pearce: 6:56

It's really shocking, but I think, when we all think about the relationships we have with our pets and now that we've seen things like Hurricane Katrina, which came after I set up this, this program at MSU, the amount of people who just will not leave their pets behind, and that's just a deal breaker for them in a variety of situations, I think we are more keyed into that concept now and accepting of it. So, while it is a high number and it's shocking to hear, I don't think it's actually that surprising, because I think a lot of us would, you know, would make the same decisions and if we were unfortunately in those scenarios, Now we see similar stories coming out of the Ukraine war.

Lisa Fortier: 7:41

Yep, absolutely. You really teed up my next question well, by the concept of one wellness, and this manuscript does cross many barriers. What was your decision making process? And submitting this to JAVMA?

Hillary Pearce: 7:55

So a really good question and one that I talked about with my residency mentor.

Hillary Pearce: 8:00

So I'm a resident with the American College of Animal Welfare and, while setting up the program was not part of my residency projects, I actually started the program before I decided to do my residency.

Hillary Pearce: 8:12

Writing it up and submitting it was was part of that thought process and I really just thought where can we get the biggest reach?

Hillary Pearce: 8:21

You know, JAVMA is a big ring to grab for and it felt a little outside of my comfort zone, but we thought this is the place that the most veterinarians are going to see it and my goal was for people in veterinary medicine to see this and to realize that they can and should play a role and that there's a lot more benefit than there is risk, you know, whereas if we submitted it to a journal, maybe in the social workspace or the psychology space, there's already a lot of conversation in those spaces around domestic violence and even the role of animals.

Hillary Pearce: 9:00

I think that that profession and community is quite keyed into this link and it's referred to as the link in many groups in many cases, the link between animal abuse and violence against people. But I think veterinarians can benefit from a lot more of that and really practical tips on how can you get involved. You don't have to start a whole program in your community, but what are the things that we can do as veterinarians in the veterinary profession? So it just seemed like an obvious place to to reach the most target audience that we have.

Lisa Fortier: 9:34

Yeah, thank you, Hillary. We have a lot of listeners who are not veterinarians as well. To those that might be interested in fostering some of these animals, how might they get involved?

Hillary Pearce: 9:43

Yeah, that's really great. And again, I think one thing we really learned from the setting up of this program is that it's truly a community effort. So we had the domestic violence shelter, of course, you know, as the central component. We had us at Hills who was able to provide resources and organization. But a program like this can't survive without volunteers, and that's not just foster homes but people willing to transport pets back and forth so to the bed or between foster homes and the community.

Hillary Pearce: 10:18

Members really are a key part of making something like this succeed. So I would encourage people if they are interested in being foster volunteers or other types of volunteers for a program like this, to just do some research. Often, if you Google domestic violence, pet housing or pet foster in your community, you'll find if there is a program. If you can't find anything obvious, reaching out to the domestic violence shelters in your community, they will often know if they have a program that exists but isn't advertised or promoted and what sorts of help they need, and they may be able to get people set up as fosters and other types of volunteers.

Lisa Fortier: 11:01

You're really inspiring, thank you, thank you. You talked earlier about some of the pivotal findings of your manuscript, but always when you write things you're like, wow, I didn't expect that. What was some surprising findings from this study.

Hillary Pearce: 11:16

I think one of our biggest findings was the amount of unsterilized pets that entered the program. I don't know that that's reflective of the pet community in general. I don't think there's a higher percentage of unsterilized pets in the Tepika area than anywhere else, but it was the majority of the pets that we had referred to the program and it made it a bit harder to find suitable foster homes for them, because people who love animals have animals for the most part and often, you know, it's hard to match an unsterilized pet with a resident animal. So you know that was something. I think we thought there would be some, but when it really became nearly all of them that came into the program in this period, that was a bit surprising for us and I guess just the disappointment in not being able to match some of these animals for something like that that is preventable and potentially easy to fix.

Sarah Wright: 12:18

And for our listeners just joining us. We're discussing a novel corporate community partnership model of a domestic violence safe haven program for pets with our guest, Hillary. So, Hillary, as you mentioned, you're currently a resident, working towards becoming a diplomat of the American College of Animal Welfare. How has your advanced training prepared you to write these manuscripts?

Hillary Pearce: 12:39

Yeah, so I am a non-traditional resident. I am well into my veterinary career. I've been in non-clinical areas of the profession for over a decade now, and so it's been interesting to go back and take on advanced training like this farther into my career. I'm very grateful that the college allows alternative track residents and you don't have to kind of pick up and move somewhere. So learning how to do this alongside my full-time job and my life has been difficult, but I think really, really great.

Hillary Pearce: 13:18

It's great to have a structure, to have to kind of learn again in the way that we did when we were about students and be able to study in that way. And so the training for the college really involves a lot of reading, a lot of scientific and welfare assessment, and so, while I haven't had a research background in the past and not much of a publication background a little bit here and there it has really given me the support and the, I think, tools to be able to do something like this and connections as well, so having people in the college that I can go to to ask for help with the statistics and how to do different parts of this process, because I think when you're in, research and publications are very common to your professional pathway. It becomes very easy. But when you're outside of that community it is a bit daunting to drive a good study and publish it. So the training really helps. Give me those tools and people to help me get it there.

Sarah Wright: 14:27

I think you don't realize how much of a second language scholarly publishing is until you're in it and you're talking to someone outside of it. I had that experience actually recently and I really had to take a step back and think all right, how can I explain this in layman's terms? Because, yeah, there's a lot that goes into it.

Hillary Pearce: 14:43

Yeah, and not in this particular publication, but in a previous one I did for the residency. It can cost some money too, and if you aren't part of that university or research community, having that funding is just. It's not something that individuals can do, even just to run a survey platform or something like that. It's been a learning process, but a really good one.

Sarah Wright: 15:09

Now the next set of questions is going to be really important for our listeners. What is one piece of information the veterinarian should know before discussing domestic violence? Safe haven programs for pets with a client?

Hillary Pearce: 15:22

That's a really great question and I would say the one thing to know is that you don't necessarily have to discuss it explicitly in order to help.

Hillary Pearce: 15:36

Knowing what the resources in your community are and having those, even quietly available in your clinic can be more helpful than you could even know. Having domestic violence hotline numbers in your restroom, for example places that clients go, that they can be private and grab that phone number in a place they might not expect it A leaflets or a phone number for a domestic violence pet safe haven program in the restroom might be the only place they get a chance to find that information if their abusive partner is with them all the time even coming with them to the veterinary appointment potentially and so I think it can be a lot less overt and less risky and less confrontational than our colleagues might be worried about, and we can just provide that information for people to utilize and if they ask directly, then we can have that conversation as well, but we don't have to necessarily bring it up and accuse them or their partner of being in a violent situation. I know that's not comfortable for anybody, but just knowing the tools and providing them goes a long, long way.

Sarah Wright: 16:53

And on the other side of the relationship. What's one thing clients should consider around domestic violence? Safe haven programs for pets.

Hillary Pearce: 17:01

That's a really good question too, I'd say, just knowing that there are resources out there, even if they may not be actively promoted. Promoting programs takes resources. It takes people and volunteers and money and bandwidth. And so I'd say, if you are in need of somewhere for your pet to go and you don't know a program by name there's not one that's heavily advertised give your local shelter a call if you're able to safely do so, or send them an email, whatever is a safe way to communicate with them. They may have resources that they know about, but they're not kind of putting out there in terms of advertising. So just ask the question.

Hillary Pearce: 17:44

There are websites also that try to consolidate programs available around the country. Those will be in the manuscript as well, listed a few of those as resources, but I will say they are difficult to keep updated. I think they do their best, but there's so many small programs and so many small communities around the country that come and may go or may again not be promoted or heavily advertised that they may not all be captured there. So just give your local domestic violence advocacy group or shelter a call and ask them and they will do their best to help you.

Lisa Fortier: 18:21

Thank you again, Hillary. I'm sure you've inspired many, many people veterinarians, clients, volunteers so thank you again.

Hillary Pearce: 18:28

Well, thank you guys so much. That's really nice. I hope that people listening are inspired to get involved, whether they are veterinarians, veterinary nurses, domestic violence advocates and even again, just see how community members who would be happy to foster or give a pet a ride to the vets All of that really helps or even donating if they have a little money. These programs cost money to run as well. They need vet care ID tags, things like that. So there's lots of ways to help.

Lisa Fortier: 19:00

Yeah, thank you. As we wind down, we'd like to ask a little more of a personal question In all your spare time. When you start a puzzle, do you begin with the exterior, the rim, or are you an interior person?

Hillary Pearce: 19:13

I think, like a lot of people, we did a lot of puzzles during COVID. I am a hard and fast exterior person, absolutely border all the way. I don't know why you would do it any other way. There are clear edge pieces there. They make it much easier. But my other weird puzzle quirk is that I refuse to cheat at all. So if pieces come out of the box connected, I disconnect them. So I'm starting from scratch. That's great.

Sarah Wright: 19:45

A very ethical way to do a puzzle.

Hillary Pearce: 19:48

That'll be my next publication ethical puzzle.

Sarah Wright: 19:51

I love that I'm a border person as well too, so I can relate and just thank you so much, Hilary. We're really excited to get this information out there and we appreciate you sharing this great work with Javma.

Hillary Pearce: 20:02

Thank you for the opportunity and for helping us share it.

Sarah Wright: 20:05

And to our listeners. You can read Hillary's article in print JAVMA or using your favorite search engine. I'm Sarah Wright with Lisa Fortier. We want to thank each of you for joining us on this episode of the Veterinary Vertex podcast. We love sharing cutting edge veterinary research with you and we want to hear from you. Be sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or whatever platform you listen to.