Turning Empathy into Action for Domestic Abuse Survivors with Pets

By Nina Leigh Krueger, President and CEO of Nestlé Purina PetCare

Sponsored by Nestlé Purina

For several years now, Purina’s purpose of enriching the lives of pets and the people who love them has been brought to life through our Purple Leash Project program, which is helping domestic violence shelters across the country become pet friendly. While we have always believed that pets and people are better together, it has never been truer than for victims of domestic abuse and their beloved pets. Not only does domestic abuse impact one-third of women and a quarter of men in this country, but for victims with pets, leaving is made even more difficult by the fact that only 15% of shelters allow pets.

We believe that we can help change that.

Perhaps like many of you, I hadn’t spent much time internalizing the issue of domestic violence before Purina started doing work in the space. And while I have been sheltered from the realities of abuse in many ways throughout my life, the more I’ve learned, the more I’ve realized that domestic abuse is far too often a story that isn’t told. That is all the more reason why lending our voices and brands to shine a light on this issue through the Purple Leash Project has been so inspiring to me, and I’ve been humbled by the willingness of our retail partners to support this work.

Together, we are making a difference.

What started nearly a decade ago as a phone call to see how Purina could help a single domestic violence shelter become pet friendly has evolved into a mission to change the narrative and the domestic violence survivor services landscape altogether at a national scale. From getting hands-on at shelters to make pet friendly improvements through associate volunteer days to lobbying for federal support for survivors with pets in Washington, D.C., Purina is committed to doing more than writing checks to make a difference. We’re putting in work to make real change.

And because of your support, and the support of our brands, we’ve helped 30 domestic violence shelters become pet-friendly and donated more than $1 million to the Purple Leash Project fund since creating the Purple Leash Project with our nonprofit partner, RedRover, in 2019.

More survivors and pets are safe today because of this work. This program is saving lives.

The Purple Leash Project is inspiring pet owners to get involved and join us on this mission. In fact, in addition to the funding Purina provides, consumers have donated more than $400,000 to the Purple Leash Project so far.

But there is more work to do.

There are more doors to open for survivors of domestic violence with pets, so they can escape abuse and heal together. It is only through the support and advocacy of many that we will continue to lead this charge and protect the bond between survivors and their beloved pets.

To our partners who have embraced the Purple Leash Project, thank you. And to those who are considering it, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Purina sales rep to find out how you can support this initiative during key periods throughout the year with merch programs designed to drive attention and awareness of this issue and give your customers a way to get involved by donating and purchasing specially marked Purina products.