Protective order may cover pets
He is sponsoring HB342, a bill that would allow pets to be considered and covered by protective orders.
Wyatt told the House Judiciary Committee, which unanimously advanced the bill Wednesday to the House floor, that people often stay in dangerous domestic situations out of fear that their animals will be hurt. "There are a number of people who refuse to leave or do something (about abusive relationships)."
Wyatt reminded the committee about a case of animal cruelty that involved a man placing his estranged wife's dog into an oven and cooking him for five minutes.
Ned Searle, the director of the governor's Office on Violence Against Women and Families, backed up Wyatt's position. "The common factor in an abusive relationship is control," Searle said. He added that harming or threatening children or pets is a "common tool."
Among other things, Wyatt's proposal would seek to extend protection to a domestic violence victim's pet by allowing prosecutors to pursue criminal charges against a defendant if any harm befalls the animal. It would also allow for a police escort should a victim need to retrieve an animal.
Mead said Best Friends receives at least five calls a week from women in abusive relationships who want the sanctuary to take their pets. The women are often afraid to go to domestic violence shelters because they can't take their pets.
"If they simply leave, they are afraid their spouse will kill, torture, injure an animal simply to get back at them," Mead said.
Contributing: Angie Welling
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