Pets in abusive households

Nicole Messier runs a rescue unique in the province of Quebec.  Women (and it is usually women) who are loath to leave an abuser because they worry about the pet they will leave behind have AnimEscale to turn to.  Nicole founded AnimEscale in February 2008.  Its mission is to foster family pets while children and their mothers seek refuge in a domestic violence victim's shelter.  Seventy-one percent of women entering shelters in Quebec state that the spouse has threatened to hurt, has injured or has killed at least one of their pets.  Forty-six percent of them said that they delayed their departure, the security of their pets being of major concern to them.  Without any subsidies or grants of any kind, Nicole built this special rescue from the ground up. She has just launched a fundraising book called Les maux dits which can be purchased on her website. (Please see my link to "Shelter for pets in domestic abuse situations".) Les maux dits is a play on words, and I'm eager to see the English translation of both that brilliant title and the book itself.   I love what Nicole does because it serves a dual purpose:  it helps the abused make that life-changing decision to leave, and it protects her/his pet from what is almost certainly a desperate situation if left with the abuser.  http://www.animescale.com/english.html