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March 29, 2007
Michael, now a father, remembers this story from his childhood, “My friends and I saw kids taking turns hurting a puppy, so we rescued the puppy.” But then Michael recalls, “About a week later, our family cat was poisoned in retaliation.” Although Michael’s story is violent, animal abuse is more commonplace than we might think, and more complex.
It is important to speak with children about animal abuse, even the seemingly small, hurtful acts that they do. Sadly, there is animal abuse in more than 80% of households with domestic violence, according to Marie Belew Wheatley, President of the American Humane Association, which is spearheading “The Link®,” a groundbreaking project that educates Americans on the high correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence. Wheatley says, “Children who witness cruelty to animals or other children, will often also be violent with animals and children. Even innocently harming an animal often escalates to more cruel acts toward animals and children.”
Children living with domestic violence are likely to take out their anger and frustration on their pets or neighborhood animals. Often, those children’s peers are the only witnesses. When parents start talking with their children about animal abuse, children are more likely to speak up after witnessing abuse.
What if your child comes to you with a story of animal abuse? Call authorities right away. “It takes a lot of community involvement to draw attention to these situations,” says Victoria Adams, Head Deputy of The Family Violence Division of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office, “If we can get a (child’s) early intervention, we can stop additional violent behavior.” Adams suggests calling 911 to get local police involved, “Law enforcement has gotten the message loud and clear. Police and prosecutors take this very seriously.”
Psychotherapist Sharyn Higdon-Jones urges parents to talk with their children when they witness abuse. “The child’s feelings need to be processed always ending with a message such as, ‘There is never any excuse for that kind of treatment. I’m glad to know you are someone who knows in your heart how wrong it is to hurt an animal.’”
Expect your child to question why someone would hurt an animal. Higdon-Jones suggests an age-appropriate discussion about possible reasons, including anger, frustration, or ignorance about animals, and to always reinforce that “none of those (reasons) are an excuse to ever hurt an animal or another human being.”
While not all children who abuse animals grow up to be violent, the vast majority of violent criminals did abuse animals as children. Rhonda Saunders, a Los Angeles District Attorney who prosecutes violent criminals, says that violent adults “will abuse animals to show how powerful they are. I have seen it over and over in these cases.” Imagine how different these violent lives could have been if someone had responded to their childhood animal abuse.
During a child’s struggle with anger, frustration, or domestic violence, sometimes that abused child’s most likely hero is another child, backed up by an informed adult.
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