Animal House

Today's column. Happy Fourth, everyone.

Pets bear the brunt of violence

Denise Flaim
Animal House

July 3, 2006

Last year, when Hurricane Katrina beat much of the Gulf Coast into a pulp, many residents refused to leave - often with tragic results - because shelters wouldn't accept their animals.

In the metaphorical - but equally brutal - storms of domestic violence that alight on American households with far greater regularity, the same applies: Many victims stay rather than leave animals behind to face an abuser's wrath.

Lt. Sherry Schlueter, section supervisor of the Special Victims and Family Crimes Section of the Broward County Sheriff's Office, knows that complicated meteorology of the human condition all too well.

"Essentially, in this country, animals are members of the family. And if violence is the norm in that family, they can often be placed in mortal danger," says Schlueter, 53, who started her law-enforcement career as a humane agent at the age of 19. "A batterer will often target the animal in the family to control the human members" - forcing compliance about domestic, elder or sexual abuse.

(In a nod to this, the New York State Legislature recently approved a bill that includes companion animals under the provisions of a court order for domestic violence victims. It awaits the governor's signature.)

As animals have become more interwoven in our lives, so, too, have they become proverbial canaries in coal mines. They are not only sentinels for the diseases that befall us, such as cancers, but they also are the earliest, though not always most visible, victims of family violence.

Outside of her police job, Schlueter runs three nonprofit organizations: One boards the animals of victims free of charge while they leave their batterers and re-establish their lives; another offers cash rewards for tips about animal abuse; and the last is a financial safety net for animals that have been criminally injured or abandoned. But Schlueter also crisscrosses the country lecturing about a much broader theme: the correlation between animal abuse and violence toward humans.

"Animal cruelty is usually the earliest warning sign of dysfunction within a household," she says, pointing to FBI studies that show the common denominator between serial killers and mass murderers is a childhood propensity for killing and torturing animals.

"If we just pay attention to those first victims, if we take these crimes against animals seriously, we could perhaps intervene early on on behalf of other family members."

A strict vegan, Schlueter knows firsthand the dismissiveness that such animal advocacy can evoke. But she thinks officers should not discriminate based on species any more than they should on race or ethnicity.

"This concept of, 'Oh, it's an animal case, it's not my responsibility - call animal control,'" disavows responsibility for an officer's sworn duty, she says. "We have an obligation to enforce all laws and protect all citizens and stop all crime."

Recognizing that cases must be prioritized according to seriousness, citizens that encounter agencies that refuse to respond "should consider making an appointment with officials in high positions to change that attitude," Schlueter suggests. "Animals and their safety are of great concern to most members of society, and law enforcement would be wise to recognize this as a true community concern."

For their part, animal-lovers should know the law. "If you don't know the definition of 'companion animal' in your state, then if you see someone abusing a turtle, how do you know that's a crime?" she says. (Under state law, "companion animal" or "pet" refers to domesticated animals "maintained in or near the household" of the owner, but excludes farm aniamls. To print out the New York State Bar Association Special Committee on Animals and the Law's informative pamphlet, which covers everything from veterinary malpractice to feral cats, go to www.nysba.org, and search for "animal law.")

Eyewitnesses are especially important in animal-abuse cases because the victims are voiceless. "Their bodies may yield evidence," Schlueter says, "but whether the animal was bludgeoned to death or hit by car may be a mystery."

About 78 percent of families with school-age children have animals, Schlueter notes. And ill treatment of furred and feathered companions can be a blinking red warning sign.

"Take your blinders off," she urges her fellow law-enforcement agents. If an animal is a victim, "all vulnerable family members are at risk."

Write to Denise Flaim, c/o Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, NY 11747-4250; or e-mail denise.flaim@ newsday.com. Visit her blog at www.newsday.com/ animalhouse.

Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.