MEDIA ALERT
June 13, 2022
For Immediate Release
CONTACT
Scott Mason
Director of Stewardship and Marketing
Office: 816-605-7113
Scottm@RoseBrooks.org
A Pet Shelter for the Pets of Domestic Violence Survivors Opened 10 Years Ago
Meet the heroic Great Dane who inspired the pet shelter, and whose legacy lives on
Kansas City, Mo, June 13, 2022 – Ten years ago, Rose Brooks Center, a domestic violence shelter in Kansas City, Missouri, became the first program in the region to accept pets. The policy change came about when a domestic violence survivor contacted the hotline seeking shelter but refused to enter the facilities because she would have to leave her pet behind. Even more so because this pet, a 110-pound Great Dane, had just saved her life by laying on top of her during the attack. On that day, Rose Brooks Center accepted their first pet.
Currently, the pet program serves approximately 75 pets per year, providing over 2,900 nights of safety annually, and on June 14th, the pet shelter turns 10 years old. Today, along with the pet shelter, survivors have completely private rooms and now have the option to keep their beloved pets with them, allowing them to live and heal together in the same secure space. Growth of the pet program continues with plans to physically expand the cat shelter, retrofit shelter bedrooms, and to continue providing training, education, and advocacy to other agencies to better serve victims and their pets.
Rose Brooks Center believes housing pets in the shelter is one way of helping to remove another barrier a survivor faces when trying to escape violence. The program has allowed survivors and their families to find safety for themselves and their pets instead of staying in what otherwise would be a dangerous situation. Since opening in 2012, hundreds of families and pets have been able to find safety and healing — together.
To learn more about Rose Brooks Center’s pet program or to see the story of the heroic Great Dane who inspired it, please visit https://www.rosebrooks.org/services/pet-shelter/
About Rose Brooks Center