Manhattan Shelter Unveils Purina Pet Haven Dog Park

On October 13th the Urban Resource Institute (URI) and Nestlé Purina PetCare (Purina) hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate Manhattan’s first-ever dog park in a domestic violence shelter. The new dog park is located at Urban Women’s Retreat (UWR), a emergency shelter that is part of the URIPALS (People and Animals Living Safely) program. URIPALS is the only program in New York City and one of the few nationally that allows survivors of domestic violence to live in a shelter with their pets. To date, URIPALS has helped 43 families with 63 pets, including 38 cats, 18 dogs, and a range of smaller animals, such as reptiles and fish, escape domestic violence.

• Women are most commonly the victim of Domestic Abuse
• Domestic violence often occurs when the abuser believes that abuse is acceptable, justified, or unlikely to be reported.
• Domestic violence can take a number of forms including physical, verbal, emotional, economic and sexual abuse, which can range from subtle to violent physical abuse that results in disfigurement or death.
• Victims of domestic violence may be trapped in domestic violent situations through isolation, power and control, cultural acceptance, lack of financial resources, fear, shame or to protect children and or pets.
• Physical violence often occurs after a period of months or even years of other forms of abuse, such as threats, intimidation and controlling behaviors such as restrictions of the other person’s self-determination, through isolation, manipulation and placing of limits on personal choices and freedoms.

URI’s programs are about supporting individuals and families and protecting the whole family from abuse—and we knew a solution was needed. That’s why we’ve launched URIPALS—People and Animals Living Safely, which is now on-site at URI’s Urban Women’s Safe Haven and Urban Women’s Retreat shelters, In partnership with The Mayor’s Alliance for New York City’s Animals, the ASPCA and Purina, URIPALS is the first co-sheltering program in NYC. Sponsored by Purina, which funded the design and construction of the dog park, the Purina Pet Haven will provide survivors of domestic violence and their families (including pets) with a safe and calming retreat in which to heal together while in shelter. The opening of the new dog park builds upon Purina’s previous support of the URIPALS program. In the spring of 2014, Purina also sponsored the creation of the Purina Play Haven at URI’s Safe Haven shelter in Brooklyn, the first-ever dog park at a domestic violence shelter in New York City. Since its opening, the park at Safe Haven has served as a vital component in the healing process for a number of families and their pets.

As part of its support for the URIPALS program, Purina is also donating Purina ONE brand dog food, Purina Cat Chow brand cat food, along with other dog treats and cat litter. In addition, Purina is working with URI to provide supplies for welcome kits for families bringing pets to Urban Women’s Retreat, including pet travel carriers, safety gates, pet beds, pet feeding and watering bowls, cat scratching posts, leashes and pet toys.