A Wildly Different Xmas Tail charity vote: Refuge4Pets
A ‘tail’ of safety, hope, and new beginnings
We are proud to support this extraordinary charity that not only saves lives but also nurtures the powerful, healing connection between survivors and their pets. Together, we can help Refuge4Pets continue their vital work in offering hope, safety, and a fresh start to those who have been through the most challenging of times.
“We are so grateful to be in with a chance of receiving a donation from Animal Friends this Christmas. While the festive period can be a wonderful time it can also be a difficult time for many families. A donation this Christmas will mean we can help more families, and their much-loved animals escape domestic abuse.”
- Mary Wakeham, Founder and Chief Executive Officer.
More about Refuge4Pets… in their own words
“I founded Refuge4Pets with our three founding Trustees in August 2017. I have worked in the field of domestic abuse for over 15 years now and at the time I was working as an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate supporting victim-survivors in Cornwall. In this role I became aware that families/individuals I was working with weren’t able to go to refuge as leaving animals behind was not an option, and that’s where Refuge4Pets comes in.
Refuge4Pets provides a specialist animal fostering service across Devon and Cornwall to victim-survivors of domestic abuse so that they can leave with their much-loved animals. Often individuals and families escaping domestic abuse are unable to take their animals with them, as most temporary accommodation does not allow pets. In many cases, this will stop people from leaving.
Each year over two million adults in England and Wales alone will experience domestic abuse and this will be the tip of the iceberg as domestic abuse remains a hidden crime. There are animals in over half of UK homes, and animals are often also abused by the perpetrator in households impacted by domestic abuse and used to control and trap the family in the abusive relationship.
We also provide training and resources to a wide range of professionals to help them to understand the link between domestic abuse and animal abuse and how to promote the safety of all victim-survivors of domestic abuse, both people and animals.
Since we started, we have supported over 400 families to escape domestic abuse by fostering over 650 animals. We take in all species of animals, from hamsters to horses, but it’s mostly dogs and cats that we care for.”
How your vote could help Refuge4Pets
“When families escape domestic abuse, they often leave with nothing and have to rebuild their lives from scratch. As part of the abuse, animals are often denied their basic needs by perpetrators including access to veterinary treatment. We cover the cost of everything animals need while they are in foster care including food and vet treatment. While our wonderful team of 148 volunteer foster carers provide the love and care, we provide 24/7 support to volunteer foster carers and cover all costs. A donation from Animal Friends will go towards the cost of caring for animals and would mean we can help more victim-survivors to escape domestic abuse, both people and animals.
We are unique as we are one of only four specialist domestic abuse animal fostering services in the UK. We are working towards building our own Refuge4Pets Sanctuary where we can provide a home from home for animals who aren’t ready for fostering. Many of the animals, particularly dogs, that we foster are traumatised by their experience of domestic abuse and having our own sanctuary would mean we can provide rehabilitation to all animals. It is also our ambition to provide refuge accommodation to families that is pet friendly, so we hope to have a small number of self-contained units on this land where families can escape to safety with their animals and get support from our expert team.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by domestic abuse, please reach out for help.
If you have been impacted by anything covered above, you can contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247. They provide confidential support and advice 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
If you are thinking about leaving an abusive relationship, or if you have left and have nowhere for your pet to go, Refuge4Pets may be able to help by fostering your pet. You can contact them on 0300 4000 121 or email them here: info@refuge4pets.org.uk.