When the little boy and his mom fled a violent home, he didn’t want to leave his dog behind. So he snuck his little dog, Max, into a domestic violence shelter in Connecticut.
It didn’t take long for the staff to discover the dog and move Max to a crate in the counselor’s office. The boy was emotionally shut down and never spoke to the counselor, but he’d talk to Max when he came to her office to visit his beloved pet.
The counselor took note and began talking to the dog, and the boy also spoke to Max and revealed the depth of the regular physical abuse and sexual trauma he’d experienced at home. The counselor could then create a treatment plan to help the boy start healing — and the shelter decided to change its policy and start allowing pets.
That domestic violence shelter is one of nearly 50 shelters renovated by the global nonprofit Greater Good Charities to become pet-friendly, according to Bryna Donnelly, Ph.D., executive vice president of programs for Greater Good Charities.
