Barriers to Implementing On-Site Companion Animal Programs in U.S. Domestic Violence Shelters: Does Shelter Location...

Women in abusive relationships who are not able to take their companion animals (CAs) with them to domestic violence shelters report staying with their abusive partners longer. Many domestic violence shelters are therefore considering establishing CA programs to address this concern. However, little research has examined existing on-site CA programs, or the barriers shelters face in establishing them. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the barriers domestic violence shelter staff face in developing and implementing on-site CA programs. Contact was attempted with 1,740 domestic violence shelters across the United States, 702 shelters (40.3%) completed the survey through telephone interviews and online surveys, and 405 indicated that they did not have an existing on-site CA program in place. Results showed that health and safety (43.6%), space (40.6%), and resources (13.1%) were the most frequently reported barriers, that most shelters identified only one or two barriers, and that the nature of the primary barriers as well as the number of barriers endorsed did not significantly differ across rural versus urban locations or geographical regions of the United States (ps > .05). Findings suggest there is a need for developing strategies for implementing on-site CA programs, and that these strategies can be used across the United States to help intimate partner violence survivors and their CAs seek safety.