Andria Gibbon–founder and president of Protecting Paws for Life, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping more domestic violence shelters become pet-friendly–recalls, as a young woman in New Jersey, her transformative first foray into animal rescue, never imagining she’d still be doing it 27 years later.
In a conversation pegged to October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Gibbon elaborates on her rescue experiences over the course of those years, undertaking various aspects of that enterprise as she relocated to Texas, back to New Jersey, then to Florida—noting that during the Texas stint, she briefly ran her own rescue.
She answers inquiries about what rescue policies or philosophies have changed most significantly over her 27 years—and what she likes best about working in rescue.
Recounting the arc of her rescue history dovetails with Gibbon’s endeavors to formalize her canine connection and expanding expertise with studies: Becoming a Certified Advanced Canine Trainer and Behavior Specialist.
Gibbon discusses yet another related hat she wears, owner of Heart Canine Care, an entity described as “focused on keeping families together that are facing behavior challenges with their dogs.”
This eases into a more detailed exchange about Protecting Paws for Life, noting that fewer than 20% of domestic violence shelters nationwide accept pets. This presents a serious obstacle for survivors, who often won’t relocate to such a shelter without their pets, and feel just as strongly about not leaving the animals at the home where the abuse takes place.
I review with Gibbon that, in 2018, I reported and co-wrote a Washington Post story on this topic, optimistically suggesting a growing trend nationally toward more domestic violence shelters permitting pets.
Heck, the headline on the Post piece was: “Little by little, domestic violence shelters become pet friendly.” And the headline was certainly true. However, what Gibbon and I were lamenting, seven-plus years later, was how slowly that progress is moving.
Still, as Gibbon outlines, Protecting Paws is putting its best foot (paw?) forward seeking to mitigate this hurdle, extending its support–during its relatively brief existence—into shelters across eight Florida counties, and forging alliances with entities such as Harmony Vet Care, BestyBnB, and Pinellas County Animal Services.
Other inroads that we talked about include creating foster arrangements for survivors and their animals—implemented with protections that prevent the parties from knowing identifying details—and holding supply drives, like the one running through October—aiming to collect a variety of pet items, including food, bedding, crates, dog and cat toys, and litter.
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