The Connection Between Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence

And yes there absolutely is one. This has been something that has been known about for years. I'm not a psychologist but it doesn't take much to imagine that someone who can hurt small critters (frogs, birds, etc), drown or burn kittens, tie puppies mouths shut and leave them outside to fend for themselves (yes, these are all REAL things that have happened), would "graduate" to doing bad stuff to kids and adults. Most serial killers started out with insects and animals. 


This story prompted me to blog about this:

Experts: Animal abuse linked to family violence

by Sarah Forgany / KENS 5

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Posted on January 27, 2011 at 10:33 PM

Updated Thursday, Jan 27 at 10:33 PM

SAN ANTONIO -- It's hard to believe an animal could be the target of violence. But experts say along with women and children, cats and dogs often get abused in acts of jealous revenge.

Sallie Scott, President of Friends of Animal Care Services, tells KENS 5 "American Humane Association started a program called link. They saw the link between animal abuse, child abuse, and family violence," Said Scott, "It's very evident in all their studies."

The link Scott adds is in almost 100% of abuse cases and she says animal abuse is becoming more prevalent by the day.

The rest of this sick story is here

Veterinarians may be the first line of defense for the humans living in an abusive home. The key is spotting animal abuse and then reporting it. The" reporting it" part can be hard. First of all, it's hard to "prove" and secondly, some might fear reprisals from the person doing the abusing. 

A good website that discusses this further can be found at:

Understanding the Link

I've never encountered a case like this myself - where I suspected animal AND human abuse. I have definitely seen animal abuse and the scariest things to me were the two cases where I KNOW a child willfully hurt an animal and didn't seem to care and the parents involved were in total denial. One case involved a cat that was thrown from the top floor balcony inside a house and luckily only sustained some eye trauma that resolved with time and meds BUT it was relatives who brought the cat in and they were fully aware. In fact, they told me of a more serious case involving a cat and this family. I STRONGLY urged them to intervene because of this very link. This child was likely to move on to humans as he grew up.