SafePet Ontario was initially established in 2017 and became a registered charity in January 2022. SafePet’s mission is to help survivors of family violence, intimate partner violence, and human trafficking by providing temporary foster care for their pets. This service allows survivors the time they needโup to one yearโto find stable, permanent housing away from their abuser. To date, SafePet has supported over 300 clients and their pets in escaping dangerous and harmful situations.
SafePet Ontario doesnโt work alone. SafePet collaborates with a network of organizations and care providers across the province to ensure comprehensive support for survivors. SafePet’s partners include:
- Police Services (OPP and local law enforcement)
- Violence Against Women Shelters
- Regional Victim Services
- Veterinarians and RVTs
- Animal Shelters and Municipal Animal Services
- Indigenous and Culturally-Specific Community Services
- Other frontline workers
SafePet has established a roster of approximately 150 foster families across Ontario who volunteer to care for pets escaping abuse, but the need for more foster families is urgent.
The unfortunate truth is that the number of victims of gender-based violence and human trafficking in Canada is rising year after year. The pandemic and inflationary crises have further exacerbated these numbers, and as a result, SafePet Ontario is seeing an unprecedented number of applications for its services.
SafePet’s work is rooted in academic research, which highlights a clear connection between intimate partner violence, child abuse, animal abuse, and elder abuse. Studies show that these forms of abuse often co-occur within families, making it impossible to address them in isolation. Every day at SafePet Ontario, SafePet sees the impact of this “link” in action. Survivors of family violence and human trafficking are often unable to leave their abuser until SafePet can provide a safe place for their pet.
As the number of cases of gender-based violence continues to rise, so does the demand for SafePet’s services. Unfortunately, SafePet doesn’t have the necessary resources to triage all of the requests it receives. To help both children and adults find safety sooner, all vulnerable members of the family systemโincluding petsโmust be given the opportunity to escape. Victims should never have to choose between leaving violence or leaving their pet.
Ways you can support SafePet:
- Become a pet foster family
- Become our veterinary and shelter partner
- Become an animal transport volunteer to help move animals from one place to another
- Volunteer with our governance, marketing, fundraising, and education
- Make monetary donations
Learn more at www.safepet.ca
With your support, we will be able to increase our capacity and serve more clients across Ontario, recruit and train more volunteers, fund more veterinary care costs for animals in our care, and develop and implement an urgent response program to accommodate clients who must flee dangerous situations immediately. Your support of SafePet Ontario will ensure that survivors never have to make that impossible choice.
