KAREN STEPHEN reports on a ground-breaking Bolton scheme which starts in the new year and will eventually be extended throughout the country. ONE in four women will experience domestic violence at some point in their lives, be it physical, sexual, verbal or psychological. And for a woman to leave a violent relationship, it takes bags of courage and a steely determination.

Many arrive at a refuge with nothing but the clothes they stand in -- families turning up in the dead of night, clad only in pyjamas is not unheard of .

The last thing on their mind is what's going to happen to the family pet -- albeit loved and adored by the children.

Paws for Kids was set up in 1997 by a group of women interested in providing extra support services to women and children who've fled violence at home and live in refuges throughout the North-west, including Bolton.

With Lottery funding of £194,170 over three years, it's in the process of setting up a high quality, caring "fostering" service for pets of women and children while they are in refuges -- and the animals can be returned to their owners once they are rehoused.

It's the first scheme of its kind in the country and Mandy Knott, who works for Paws -- she worked in various refuges for eight years -- is well aware of the distress caused to women and children who have to leave a much-loved pet behind.

"Many women and children suffering domestic violence have pet animals in the home," explains Mandy, who is running the scheme with Carole Marsden from an office in the Bolton area.

"These animals are often used by abusers as a tool to control, threaten, intimidate and frighten.

"To do this, they harm, or threaten to harm the pets -- even kill them. Of course this can traumatise children and mothers alike."

For many women and children who leave violent relationships, the options open to them regarding their pets are very limited.

According to Mandy, very few local authorities provide any facilities for kennelling and most refuges are unable to allow pets to stay so, unless family or friends can help out, most pets will be left behind (where they would possibly suffer at the hands of the abuser) or, says Mandy, "be put down".

"This inevitably causes further distress and trauma," she says, "particularly for the children. Sometimes a pet is probably the only consistent factor in their turbulent lives and to lose that, along with their home and familiar surroundings -- no matter how unsettled -- can prove devastating."

Mandy also points out that, sadly, there will be an unknown number of women and children who stay in violent situations because they can't bear to leave their pets.

Paws for Kids intends to reduce the distress and pressure on these families and reduce the suffering of the animals.

Family pets will be fostered out to loving, caring homes and looked after by animal lovers who will have been previously scrutinised by Paws staff.

However, the scheme also intends to focus on the children as a main area for support.

Says Mandy: "It's now widely acknowledged that children whose mothers suffer domestic violence are deeply affected by it -- whether or not they are victims of the assaults.

"We aim to bridge that gap by providing "respite" weekends and school holiday breaks for small groups of children away from the refuge in a rural setting.

"They will be responsible for various activities including helping to care for the fostered animals in the pets project.

"This, in turn, will encourage them to treat animals with respect in a caring and responsible manner."

Paws for Kids aims to utilise skills of trained volunteers who will collect the pets and transport them to their new foster home -- complete with necessary injections.

Mandy points out the service will be complimentary to and not duplicate any of the valuable work already done in women's refuges -- there are around 36 in the North-west alone.

She stresses: "The whole operation will be strictly confidential, as is everything concerning women's refuges.

"Paws for Kids will continue that theme and therefore be a women-only organisation with women volunteers."

Mandy adds: "We anticipate the scheme coming into operation in the new year -- we are currently in the process of talking with various relevant agencies, the RSPCA and National Canine Defence League, who are all vociferous in their support." Victims of violence THREE hundred questionnaires were sent out to all refuges in Women's Aid Federation of England (WAFE) regarding pets in violent households. Here are some of the findings:

88 per cent of women said it was a problem sorting out their pets when going into a refuge 94 per cent said if a pet fostering service had been available, it would have been easier to leave the violence

66 per cent said their abuser had threatened to harm their pets

38 per cent said they had actually hurt their pets

Only one woman said the council paid to put her pet in kennels/cattery

58 per cent had to give up their pets through selling them, leaving them at home, having them put down or not knowing what happened to them

Of the 15 women who said their pets went to friends or family, five had been looked after by refuge workers.

Comments from some of the women:

"When I left my cat it was like leaving a baby..."

"If I didn't own any pets I would have left him years ago..."

"He has threatened to kill the animals or dump them..."

"My ex got up in the night to hit the dog..."

"He used to throw the gerbils about by their tails in front of the children and threaten to stamp on them..."

Statistics from Paws for Kids who can be contacted at PO Box 329, Bolton BL6 5FT.

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