Warm Hearts offers off-site Pet Safe grants for transition houses to help keep domestic violence survivors and their pets safe.
Set Up For Success
Warm Hearts Pet Safe Havens offers grants to help transition houses rehome survivors with their pets by covering pet-related costs.
Keeping domestic violence survivors and their pets together after leaving a DV situation has been proven to be extremely beneficial for both the survivor and their animal. It’s also been done successfully elsewhere for decades. For example, Red Rover (an organization in the USA) has been providing funding for pet-friendly housing to transition homes since 1987.
In collaboration with BC Housing and BC Transition Houses Society, Warm Hearts Pet Safe Havens supports the re-homing of animal companions at transition houses. If that is not an option, Warm Hearts can provide temporary funding for pets to be cared for at animal shelters or veterinary clinics in the community.
Types of Grants
To provide safe shelter for companion animals leaving domestic violence situations, Warm Hearts Pet Safe Havens provides Pet Safe grants.
Pet Safe Grants:
- Enable transition houses to purchase boarding time at a veterinary clinic, pet boarding facility, or animal shelter
- Up to $750 for 2 weeks of boarding at a veterinary clinic, pet boarding facility, or animal shelter
- Grant funds can be requested at any time
- Grants may be approved in whole or in part, depending on demand and availability of funds
- Warm Hearts cannot guarantee all applications will successfully receive grants
To read more about the granting process and guidelines, How To Apply Guidelines are provided below.
For helpful resources when caring for animal companions from DV situations, visit BC Society of Transition Houses website. More details on safe housing options are described on the SAF-T website.
If transition houses are planning to create or develop space for pets to live at the transition house with the DV survivor, we suggest contacting BC Housing.
How To Apply
DV service providers may apply for funding at any time:
- Step 1: Request a grant application by emailing Warm Hearts
- Step 2: We will respond to your inquiry with a link
- Step 3: Email your application back to Warm Hearts
Request a Grant Application Form
Contact Us
Grant Applications
- DV service provider obtains quote for boarding
- DV service provider submits application to Warm Hearts
- Application is reviewed and decision made within 7 days
- 50% of approved amount is forwarded to successful applicant
- Final invoice for boarding is submitted to Warm Hearts
- Balance of approved amount is forwarded to service provider
Applications must be completed and submitted by a domestic violence service provider (e.g., shelter, case worker). This ensures that the human client is connected to support services. The human client must be entering a shelter or DV support program (e.g., moving into a DV shelter, or connected with services while staying with family who cannot accommodate the pet, or staying in a hotel which cannot accommodate the pet).
Questions regarding the application process may be directed to Warm Hearts via the Contact Us form, by email to petsafehavens@gmail.com, or by calling 250-382-3447.
As Warm Hearts appreciates the need for ethical human and animal care, the following guidelines are to ensure accountability and safety of all:
- Human clients and their DV service providers are responsible for arranging safe care for the companion animals
- Warm Hearts may provide names of animal service providers (e.g, boarding kennels, veterinarians, animal rescue agencies) to applicants, but we do not endorse or recommend specific businesses
- The human client and/or DV service provider will be responsible for ensuring prompt and full payment for services provided to companion animals
- Warm Hearts will not provide direct payment to animal service providers
- All info about clients, their animal companions, animal service providers, and DV shelters will be kept confidential by Warm Hearts, and only used to track the success of the Pet Safe Grant Program
