Hi, I am Candy Cane from The Care Gift Elves and today I am here to talk to you about Link Toronto and the SafePet Program. Recently Yvonne Tang one of the co-founders of Link came and talked to us about the program. We learned a lot about the cycle of abuse and what Link is doing to help women and animals that are affected in the GTA.
The cycle of abuse can affect adults, children, and animals. Link Toronto wants to help women leave their homes when they are in abusive situations. They help by taking their pets and putting them in safe foster homes while survivors of abuse stay at a GTA-area VAW (violence against women) shelters. When the survivor leaves the shelter and is settled in a safe home, Link returns the pet to its owner. One of the main reasons people don't leave abusive situations is that they don’t want to leave their pets because they are afraid that their pets will be also be abused. Link’s program allows them to get the help that they need to recover and keep their pet safe.
The SafePet program involve three rounds of interviews to ensure their Pet Fosters will provide safe and loving homes. The survivor drops off their pet at one of Link’s volunteer Veterinarians, the foster picks up the pet from the Vet, and then when the Survivor is ready to get their pet back the foster returns the pet to the Vet so the Survivor can retrieve their pet. This process ensures the Survivor is able to leave their abusive situation, find safety for themselves and their pets, and maintains their confidentiality. If you would like to help Link with their mission to end abuse and domestic violence in the GTA. you can go to their website (https://www.linktoronto.org) to find out how to donate money and pet supplies or become a SafePet foster. The Care Gift Elves will be collecting donations to support the SafePet program.
