Georgia judges could include family pets in domestic violence restraining orders under new bill

“One of the things he told me near the end was he would make sure he kept all the animals,” Heatherland said. “That was a big concern for me knowing that he was a combat veteran and very well trained with weaponry and fighting techniques. I was very concerned for their safety.”

Fear of losing the pets kept Heatherland in the relationship longer than they otherwise would have stayed, they said. But the General Assembly recently approved legislation that could have made it easier for Heatherland and others to leave abusive partners.

If Gov. Brian Kemp signs House Bill 177, people who’ve experienced domestic violence could ask judges to include family pets in temporary protective orders. The bill passed both chambers with overwhelming support.

House Public and Community Health Chairwoman Sharon Cooper, a Marietta Republican, said she sponsored the bill because it has become more common for abusers to threaten the pets as a way to keep victims from leaving. Abusers know how important pets have become, she said.

“What’s happening now (is) the family pet has become a way to hurt the other person and people — usually men, though not always — men are threatening to harm the pet, take the pet or kill the pet,” Cooper recently told a Senate panel.

“And they often do it in front of the children. Statistics show that most women that are in this situation will not leave when threatened by an issue like this,” she said.

Credit: BEN GRAY / AJC

Credit: BEN GRAY / AJC

That was the case for Heatherland.

“Not only was I going through domestic violence, I felt like I was losing the rest of my family on top of that,” Heatherland said. “It added a lot of emotional trauma.”

If HB 177 becomes law, it would create a space on the form to allow those petitioning for a temporary protective order to indicate they would like to include a pet. HB 177 would then allow a judge to determine plans for a pet when deciding to grant a temporary protective order. Judges would not be required to include a pet in their order.

National statistics show that the bill is needed, advocates say.

According to the Purple Leash Project, a partnership between the Purina pet food company and the animal aid nonprofit RedRover, 48% of domestic abuse survivors delay leaving because they can’t take their pets with them. More than 70% of women in domestic violence shelters say their abuser threatened, injured or killed a pet as a way to exert control.

“The courts consider pets as property,” said Karimah Dillard, director of policy with the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “But pets are not like a piece of furniture, they are more like children and they require care.”

She added that often the animals themselves are vulnerable to abuse.

“We know that animal cruelty is a powerful predictor of future harm in domestic violence relationships and even lethality in domestic violence relationships,” Dillard said.

In 2021, Heatherland moved into a friend’s house and used services from Ahimsa House to care for their pets. Ahimsa House is a nonprofit that provides emergency housing for pets, often placing them in a volunteer’s home.

They had volunteered with Ahimsa House before needing its services, but Heatherland said they are hopeful that HB 177 becomes law and allows others to keep their pets safe from abuse.

“When a person is going through one of the worst times of their life and losing their family, losing their spouse (because of) violence — and it’s not their choice — one of the worst things is to not feel confident that you’ll be able to keep your fur babies,” they said.

“And losing your fur kids, on top of everything else that’s going so horribly wrong and all the devastation that goes with domestic violence, it’s just cruel.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misidentified Noël Heatherland’s dog’s name. The dog’s name is Champion.