St. John's developing pet-safe program for abuse victims

St. John's city council is moving ahead with a plan to develop a pilot project to look after the pets of people who are victims of domestic abuse.

Council voted in favour of a recommendation Monday night which asks city staff to develop a pet-safe program. 

Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth said the goal is to help people who are living in unsafe homes or environments but aren't getting services or supports they need because they are not willing to move away from their pets. 

Work in progress

Ellsworth said he hopes to bring a plan back to council for approval by late spring or early summer.

"Those of us who have pets and are animal lovers certainly understand that they become a major part of your family," he said.

"If you are an individual by yourself or somebody in an abusive relationship, you are not willing to leave that pet behind to suffer damage or injury."

Ellsworth said the city is looking at working with different departments to come up with a way to develop the service.

"What we propose here is that we get staff to look at developing a process and come up with policies in conjunction with our legal folks and our risk management folks that will allow us to assist in this area," he told Monday evening's council meeting.