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Leaving safely, with your dog
You do not have to choose between leaving and keeping them. The help is real.
01The thing to know first · 1 point›
You do not have to choose between leaving and keeping your dog. Pet-friendly domestic violence shelters exist, funded boarding exists, and foster networks exist. The help is real — it is just badly advertised.
02Who to call · 4 points›
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). TTY 1-800-787-3224. Free, 24 hours, confidential.
Say this: Tell the advocate you are seeking safety WITH A PET. That one sentence changes which options they search for, and advocates are trained for it.
Safe Havens for Pets: safehavensforpets.org — a national searchable database of shelters and programs that take pets.
The SAF-T Program: saftprogram.org — lists domestic violence shelters that accept family pets, not only service animals.
03Funded boarding · 3 points›
RedRover Safe Escape grants: RedRover Relief funds up to roughly 45 days of pet boarding while a survivor is in a domestic violence shelter, and can cover vaccinations needed to enter boarding.
The crucial detail: The application must be submitted BY a domestic violence advocate on the survivor's behalf, not by the survivor directly. This is for safety. If you are working with an advocate, ask them about RedRover Safe Escape by name — not every advocate knows it exists.
Others worth naming: The Purple Leash Project (RedRover and Purina) funds shelters to become pet-friendly. Noah's Animal House in Nevada has housed pets of survivors from dozens of states. BestyBnB and A Safe Place for Pets help find foster placements.
04The legal piece · 1 point›
Protection orders can include pets in most states, and the federal PAWS Act supports protective orders covering companion animals in interstate cases. When you apply for an order, ask specifically that the pet be named. Bring vet records or adoption paperwork if you have them, because ownership can become contested.
05Practical preparation, if you can · 1 point›
· Vet records, microchip number, and a current photo of you WITH the dog — kept somewhere the other person cannot access
· The microchip registered in your name, with your phone number
· A small bag at a trusted person's house: food, a leash, medication, the records
· Know the boarding or foster option before the day you need it
· The microchip registered in your name, with your phone number
· A small bag at a trusted person's house: food, a leash, medication, the records
· Know the boarding or foster option before the day you need it
06If you already left without them · 1 point›
That was not a failure and it was not abandonment. Contact the hotline and an advocate; recovery of a pet through a protection order or a welfare check is sometimes possible, and organizations do help with this. Leaving to stay alive was the right call.
07For people who work with survivors · 1 point›
Ask about pets at intake and on crisis calls. It is a question most programs do not ask, and it is often the reason someone says no to a bed. RedRover runs free training for organizations building a pet program, and Safe Housing grants fund start-up costs.
08Everything here is free · 1 point›
There is nothing to buy on this page. Every resource named is free or funded, and the hotline costs nothing to call.
Rosette Dog is educational and is not veterinary advice. In an emergency, contact your veterinarian or the nearest emergency animal hospital.
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