More Than Footballs Fly During The Game

Courtesy google images

Many of you know that in the mid-90's spcaLA created and still operates Animal Safety Net™ (ASN), a domestic violence program designed to shelter pets while a battered victim can flee to an emergency shelter. All abusers use the pet as leverage to control and retain their victims, and many victims won't leave their pet behind. Frequently, the pets are also abused.

There are many excuses tendered by batterers as to why they are agitated and must strike out. Alcohol, unemployment, extreme heat, and all of the above are the common ones. But did you know that watching a football game is even more dangerous?

Every year, when preseason football begins, incidents of domestic violence spike exponentially and remain high through the super bowl. This year is no different. spcaLA just received 17 pets, it seems, right after the first coin toss! One cat came in with a fractured skull after having a chair thrown at him. (This, of course, will incur the charge of animal cruelty in addition to any other applicable charges.) This pattern has not abated for as long as I have been in a law enforcement career.

While there are reports of the correlation between the game itself and family violence, and some emulating of football players involved in domestic violence, there are no formal studies that prove this, just anecdotal evidence via the victims.

So-what can I say? Please be aware of this phenomena and if you see something - say something. The excuse that "I got excited during the game" must not now nor ever stand.

More Than Footballs Fly During The Game

Courtesy google images

Many of you know that in the mid-90's spcaLA created and still operates Animal Safety Net™ (ASN), a domestic violence program designed to shelter pets while a battered victim can flee to an emergency shelter. All abusers use the pet as leverage to control and retain their victims, and many victims won't leave their pet behind. Frequently, the pets are also abused.

There are many excuses tendered by batterers as to why they are agitated and must strike out. Alcohol, unemployment, extreme heat, and all of the above are the common ones. But did you know that watching a football game is even more dangerous?

Every year, when preseason football begins, incidents of domestic violence spike exponentially and remain high through the super bowl. This year is no different. spcaLA just received 17 pets, it seems, right after the first coin toss! One cat came in with a fractured skull after having a chair thrown at him. (This, of course, will incur the charge of animal cruelty in addition to any other applicable charges.) This pattern has not abated for as long as I have been in a law enforcement career.

While there are reports of the correlation between the game itself and family violence, and some emulating of football players involved in domestic violence, there are no formal studies that prove this, just anecdotal evidence via the victims.

So-what can I say? Please be aware of this phenomena and if you see something - say something. The excuse that "I got excited during the game" must not now nor ever stand.

Athletes Unload Their Pets via Twitter

Recently, professional athletes are using Twitter to unload their family pets. 

courtesy Google images

Kendrick Perkins  (basketball), Anthony Davis (football) and Isaiah Stanback (football) all posted the desire to sell their dogs on Twitter, and at least Perkins and Davis sold their family pet in under an hour with the requirement by Davis to "Just don't be mean to him".

As I am willing to defer to the professionals in sports, I would ask that they, in turn, let me and other credentialed professionals find unwanted pets new homes. Notwithstanding the difference between merely getting rid of a pet to the first bidder and actually finding a pet a new home-(The former accepts the tweet for the highest bid while the latter searches, screens and tries to assess compatibility with the family)- there are darker issues at play here. Is the allure of the pet the fact that is belongs to a famous athlete? Is the intention to re-tweet and resell to the highest bidder? What is the effect on the dog who must travel, and readjust to new surroundings. Is this the message that pro athletes, often viewed as role models, want to convey to our youth about commitment and responsibility?

I would advise these athletes and those that will imitate them to turn their pets over to a local humane society or spca with a donation sufficient to ensure their well-being while they wait for a new family. 

While it is certainly possible that a good home may be found using Twitter. gambling with a pets' life is not the game these athletes should be playing.  

Article first published as Pro-Athletes Unload Pets Via Twitter on Technorati.