Urgent plea for canine foster carers to support people fleeing abuse 

A welfare charity has issued an urgent appeal for new foster carers to come forward to help dog owners fleeing from domestic abuse.

Leaders of the Freedom Project, which is managed by Dogs Trust, say demand for its services has risen by 23% in the past year alone.

Research by the charity has found that an overwhelming majority of professionals working with domestic abuse survivors have identified the use of animals as a means of perpetrators controlling their victims.

Volunteers

Although 211 dogs have been fostered so far this year, supporting 163 individual owners, officials say more volunteers are needed to help meet the growing levels of need.

Project manager Laura Saunders said: “We’ve seen first-hand the ways that perpetrators use dogs to coerce, control, physically harm and threaten within abusive relationships. This is incredibly frightening for survivors and is often aimed to leave people isolated.

“By providing temporary foster homes for dogs, we support survivors to access safe accommodation with the reassurance that their dog will be taken care of until they can be reunited.

“While we are pleased to have been able to help so many people, there is still very much a need for our service, and we urgently need more foster carers across the UK so that we can continue this life-saving work.”

Project

The project currently operates in several UK nations and regions, including Greater London and the home counties, East Anglia, Yorkshire, the north-east, the north-west, Scotland and Wales.

It is seeking volunteers who are at home during the day, have experience of caring for dogs and be able to commit to fostering a dog for at least six months.

All fostering costs are met by the charity and fosterers’ involvement is kept confidential.

Anyone interested in getting involved can visit the website or telephone 0808 1966240 for further details.