San Diego Humane Society gets $10,000 grant to help domestic violence victims and their pets

The San Diego Humane Society received a $10,000 grant from Kathy’s Legacy Foundation for their joint effort to help domestic violence victims and their pets.

The grant was given in memory of a Carlsbad woman who was murdered by her estranged boyfriend.

The partnership is focused on creating a system for victims and pets to co-shelter together when leaving an abusive situation.

“Our work with Kathy’s Legacy is to remove barriers for victims of domestic violence, so they can bring their pets and receive the resources needed to care for them,” said Nina Thompson, spokesperson for the San Diego Humane Society.

The grant goes toward further training for San Diego Humane Society staff to better assist victims of domestic violence who have pets and work with domestic violence shelters on how to be more pet inclusive.

The San Diego Humane Society has a number of services that support victims of domestic violence, such as the Safety Net Foster Program and Emergency Boarding program, along with the Pet Pantry, which provides free pet food and supplies to community members in need.

“Currently, in San Diego, only service and emotional support animals are allowed into some domestic violence shelters. Because of that, we have partnered with SDHS to work together in trying to establish a support system for victims and their pets to co-shelter when leaving an abusive situation,” said Alexandra Lutz Lewis, associate director of Kathy’s Legacy Foundation.

“This will hopefully encourage more victims to leave abusive situations as they will no longer have to fear leaving their pets behind which is a known deterrent,” Lewis said.

Kathy’s Legacy Foundation started its partnership with the San Diego Humane Society in April 2019 with an initial grant of $20,000.

The Carlsbad-based foundation was established in honor of Kathy Scharbarth, who was murdered by her estranged boyfriend in November 2011 on what would have been her 34th birthday. She had a beloved dog named Lady, a Labrador retriever she had rescued, and the two were known to be inseparable. The work the foundation does with pets falls under the foundation’s Lady’s Legacy program.

Kathy’s Legacy Foundation serves children and pets who are affected by domestic violence. The mission is to “revive hope, restore normalcy and inspire dreams” in the lives of children orphaned by intimate partner violence and to establish a support system for victims and their pets to co-shelter when leaving an abusive situation.

The foundation is also helping foster pets long-term while victims seek shelter in places that do not accommodate pets.