Dame Julie Chapman: Pet Refuge founder says charity is urgently calling for donations

Pet Refuge is urgently appealing for donations, and bracing for demand to surge over Christmas.

The charity is receiving daily pleas for help from people escaping family violence - and is currently caring for 29 pets.

Founder Dame Julie Chapman told Andrew Dickens that more than half of women delay leaving family violence - because they're scared to leave pets behind.

She says the charity takes pets in for up to four months and covers all costs, while people rebuild their lives in emergency housing or women's refuge.

https://www.petrefuge.org.nz/

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
Animals coming from abusive homes are being turned away from
help due to overwhelming demand. Pet Refuge cames. Emotions run
high around the Christmas period and violent spikes and that's
bad for people but also for dogs, and they say
this year has been their most difficult yet. We're joined
by Dame Julie Chapman, who is the Pet Refuge founder.
Good morning to you, Julie, Good morning, How are you good?

(00:39):
How many animals are currently in your career and your care?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
We have twenty nine in our care right now, cats
and dogs mostly, but we are receiving calls daily right
now and multiple calls for help as well.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
And why are they ending out in your care? Well?

Speaker 3 (00:58):
Pet Refuge is an organization solely dedicated to temporary housing
for pets affected by family violence. We know that particular
fifty three percent of women delay leaving family violence out
of fear for their pets lives, and so we take
those pets in from all over New zealand keep them

(01:20):
safe up to four months, cover all the costs while
women and children and men in some cases in emergency
housing or women's refuge rebuilding their lives.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
So do the animals return home after time like you
had the four months or do they get re home
to one?

Speaker 3 (01:38):
Yeah, And I think that's the key. Over ninety one
percent of the pets that we look after go back
to their families once they've secured their own safety. And
that just shows you how important the pets are. And
I guess that's our point of difference. We're looking after
much loved, much valued pets. They often come to us

(02:00):
extremely traumatized because of the abuse that they've witnessed or
been subjected to, and so we keep those pets safe
so it enables the family to leave and escape and
then be reunited once they've found a safe place to live.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
And if someone sees behavior towards animals that they think
is bad, who do they call? Should they call you?
Should they call the y SPCA? Should they call the police?

Speaker 3 (02:26):
Look, they can call the police if they need help
escaping family violence and they have a pet, And it
doesn't matter what kind of pets. It can be a
large animal, horses, goats, any kind of pet, cats and dogs. Nationwide,
they can call us. And what we're really doing right
now is appealing for the public to donate at Christmas

(02:49):
because this is going to be one of the busiest
times for us at this year.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
How do we do that and how do we get
in touch with you?

Speaker 3 (02:57):
You can go to pet Refuge dot org dot nz.
You can get help there by contacting our team, or
you can make a twenty five dollars monthly donation which
we put towards our Safe Beds for Pets program, or
a one off donation and every cent is much appreciated,
especially at this time of the year.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Julie, thank you so much for your work. Is great work,
and that is Julie Chapman, Dame Julie Chapman, Pet Refuge
founder but also the founder of Kids Can so she
is all around a great New Zealander.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
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