To the Editor,
Re: Animal cruelty charge earns jail sentence, Nov. 10; Assault nets suspended sentence, fine, Nov. 6.
In the last few days, I have seen two stories in the News Bulletin involving domestic violence in our community, yet neither even remotely notes that these incidents were related to violence against women, sadly perpetrated by young men.
One story, about a man taking a hammer to his girlfriend’s dog, is only all too familiar to us in that violence against family pets is often threatened in domestic violence situations, and often becomes one of the reasons women are reluctant to leave the family home. Our local SPCA has been extremely helpful to us in a number of cases where they have temporarily taken in family pets in situations where this type of violence is an issue.
The second story was about a pregnant woman assaulted in a vehicle and hanging from the car while it was moving at a fair speed. Pregnancy, as research tells us, is a clear risk factor in domestic violence situations. I want to commend the man who decided not to be a silent bystander, and instead acted to prevent further violence from happening.
Anne Spilker
executive director
Haven Society
