DOGS TRUST
www.icenimagazine.co.uk
Issue 91 2020
Credit: Richard Murgatroyd Photography
Dogs Trust Appeals For Foster Carers In East Anglia To Help People And Their Dogs Fleeing Domestic Abuse Dogs Trust Freedom Project, a pet fostering scheme run by the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, has launched an appeal to animallovers in East Anglia to temporarily care for the dogs of survivors of domestic abuse, enabling their owners to flee to safety.
showed that almost half (49%) of professionals working in the sector are aware of domestic abuse cases where the pet has been killed. To date, the Freedom Project has helped over 1,400 people fleeing domestic abuse by fostering over 1,600 dogs.
Dogs Trust launched its Freedom Project in 2004, offering a lifeline for dog owners who are escaping from domestic abuse. The Freedom Project provides foster homes for dogs and enables survivors to access safe accommodation without the fear of what may happen to their dog if they cannot take them with them.
Dogs Trust is currently expanding the project into East Anglia and urgently needs foster carers to support this vital service. The East Anglia service is set to run across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Alongside already operating in Essex, this will mean that Dogs Trust can offer full coverage of the Freedom Project in the East of England.
Sadly, there is a strong link between domestic abuse and abuse to pets, with research showing that pets will often be used by a perpetrator as a tool to threaten or coerce. Dogs Trust research
Sarah Rowe, Freedom Project Coordinator for East Anglia at Dogs Trust said: “It has become clear that a
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