ASPCA Pledges Continued Support for URIPALS

Since 2013, with the support of partners including the ASPCA, Purina and the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, URIPALS has helped 36 families and 54 pets escape domestic violence, heal and rebuild their lives.

URIPALS client success stories:

• In order to escape their abuser, a mother and her three children sought refuge at a domestic violence shelter in New York City. However, the shelter was unable to accommodate Peppah, the family dog. To keep Peppah with the family, the mother hid the dog in her car and often snuck her into the shelter, risking discharge from the shelter. Once Peppah was discovered, the mother was referred to the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals who temporarily fostered the dog. Despite the family being safe in shelter, they longed to once again be with Peppah. In February 2014, URIPALS began to accept small dogs. As a result, the family was transferred to the new URIPALS shelter where they were reunited with Peppah, becoming the first URIPALS family with a dog in shelter.Jasmin was trapped in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship and her two dogs, Tony and Teresa, were caught in the crossfire. When Jasmin made the decision to leave her abuser, she knew there was no way she could do so without Tony and Teresa. Thankfully, Jasmin learned of URIPALS and was able to come to the emergency shelter with her dogs. Although Jasmin, Tony and Teresa were all suffering at the time they entered the shelter, they were able to begin to heal together as a family thanks to the URIPALS coordinator and services provided by the ASPCA. Today, Jasmin, Tony and Teresa are preparing to leave the shelter and restart their lives.

URI’s four domestic violence shelters in New York City served close to 1,000 clients, including 348 women and 632 children, in 2014. For more information about URI’s domestic violence services and for tips to keep the whole family safe, please visit www.urinyc.org.

In addition to support from its partners, URI relies on donations from individuals to deliver vital services to some of New York City’s most vulnerable populations. To Support URI and the URIPALS program, please visit urinyc.org/get-involved/donations/.