Beth Franklin recalls a case in which she was helping an abused wife whose husband shot the family pet in the kitchen of their home. Their children were there at the time.
“It was a signal to her that she could be next,” says Franklin, who works for the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Frank Ascione, executive director of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at the University of Denver, notes another case in which the father of a 4-year-old girl bludgeoned the family’s kitten in front of his daughter and wife. He made his daughter stay all night in a darkened room with the remains and clean them up in the morning.
Now, Ascione and Franklin’s organizations are collaborating in a four-year, $1.5 million study to investigate what type of scars are left on children who experience both human and animal abuse in the home.
“Our study will provide a better understanding of potential mental health problems in children (7- to 12-year-olds) that may be associated with living in a home with intimate partner violence as well as abuse of pet animals,” Ascione said.
“Children’s attachments to their pets may be an important buffer in circumstances of family distress,” he added. “When their pets are threatened or harmed, children’s coping ability may be compromised.”
Franklin, an advocacy specialist, said pets can be a stabilizing factor for children and can even be confidantes when home life gets unbearable.
The effects of intimate partner violence have been well documented, she added, but, “we can’t develop intervention strategies for both types of abuse until we know what type of damage is being done.”
The Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a statewide information and resource organization, will work with about three dozen domestic abuse groups around the state to enlist 300 pairs of mothers and children for the study.
Advocates with these groups will be trained by Ascione’s institute, which is located within DU’s Graduate School of Social Work. They will track the 300 pairs for four years and submit data to Ascione, who holds a doctorate degree and has published previous research on domestic violence and pets. “It really is something I’ve been wanting to do for many years,” said Ascione.
The grant that his institute is getting is one of several awarded through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
“This is a big deal,” added James Herbert Williams, dean of the DU Graduate School of Social Work. “It says we’re doing the right thing.”
Reach John Davidson at Jedavidson@denverpost.com. Read his weekly pets blog at
