Domestic violence: Protecting people and pets
Research shows that domestic violence abusers often use companion animals as tools of coercion and control, creating additional barriers for survivors seeking safety. In February 2025, the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted Resolution 504, recognizing the critical need to help protect the companion animals of domestic violence survivors. Among other provisions, the resolution emphasizes training for legal professionals, veterinarians, and other stakeholders on recognizing the link between domestic violence and animal cruelty, supporting domestic violence victims, providing appropriate referrals, and maintaining confidentiality.
In this webinar, you’ll gain practical guidance on identifying signs of domestic violence and animal abuse or neglect; and understanding the link between them. You’ll also learn how to access resources to support survivor decision-making and foster cross-disciplinary collaboration to help protect both survivors and their pets.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Explain how dynamics of power and control in domestic violence impact survivor decision-making.
- Recognize the importance of safety planning in supporting survivors.
- Understand the veterinary team’s role in reporting suspected animal cruelty and in supporting a coordinated response to family violence.
- Identify at least one essential item for a survivor with a pet to include in a “go bag.”
ABOUT THE HOSTS:
| Megan Senatori, JD Megan Senatori is the executive director of the Center of Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark Law School. She practiced civil litigation for 18 years, representing a wide range of clients, including veterinarians, veterinary clinics, and handling animal protection cases. She has been teaching animal law since 2003 in the advanced degree program at Lewis & Clark, including the courses “Companion Animal Law” and “Emerging Topics: Veterinary Animal Law.” She has extensive experience on the link between domestic violence and animal cruelty. In 2001, she co-founded Sheltering Animals of Abuse Victims (SAAV), a volunteer-based nonprofit that provides confidential, temporary shelter for the pets of domestic abuse survivors in Dane County, Wisconsin. She serves as SAAV president, and as co-chair of the American Bar Association's Companion Animal Subcommittee within the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section's Animal Law Committee. |
| Dr. Kendall Houlihan Dr. Kendall Houlihan has served as an associate director in AVMA’s Animal Welfare Division since 2014. In this role, she develops and implements animal welfare and human-animal interaction policies grounded in science and informed by ethical and societal considerations. Her work focuses on companion animal issues, including providing staff support to AVMA’s Animal Welfare Committee and Steering Committee on Human-Animal Interactions, and serving on the AVMA's institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC). She also represents the Association at allied organization meetings to foster collaboration across the veterinary profession and beyond. Prior to joining the AVMA, she practiced as a companion animal veterinarian in the Chicagoland area. She earned her veterinary degree from the University of Illinois. |
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:
| Maricarmen Garza, JD Maricarmen Garza joined the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence in October 2024 as chief counsel. In this role, she oversees policy, program, and financial management, serving as a key resource on gender-based violence and the law. She advises ABA leaders, attorneys, judges, legislators, and the media, while also managing program activities, budgets, and national policy initiatives. She also acts as a liaison to commission members, supporting their mission of addressing domestic and sexual violence. Prior to joining the ABA, Garza served as chief of programs for the Tahirih Justice Center, the only national, multicity organization providing a broad range of direct legal services, policy advocacy, and training and education to protect immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence. |
| Dr. Amanda Bisol, JD Dr. Amanda Bisol earned her DVM from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011 and since then has practiced as a general small animal veterinarian in central Maine. She received her law degree from the University of Maine in 2024. She has volunteered at multiple levels within organized veterinary medicine, including representing District 1 on the AVMA Board of Directors. Dr. Bisol has always felt strongly about improving animal welfare and has advocated for improvements in education and resources in this area. |
| Bethanie A. Poe, PhD, LMSW Bethanie Poe is the associate director of education and training at the University of Tennessee’s Center for Veterinary Social Work. She began her journey in veterinary social work as an intern at the university and returned as a veterinary social work fellow in her PhD program, where she helped develop the Veterinary Social Work Certificate Program for concurrent and postgraduate students. She has over a decade of experience in the field of interpersonal violence, including working in domestic violence shelters, child protection, with batterers’ intervention programs, and in mental health education. |
