September 16, 2026

While it’s been a quiet couple of months in terms of providing care to new patients of clients entering our local gender-based violence shelters, we have been hard at work in terms of making our organization known. We’ve reached out to additional shelters to offer our services and to answer questions/concerns that they might have regarding becoming a pet-friendly shelter. Just yesterday, I received the September issue of the LINK-Letter, a monthly publication of the National Link Coalition, and was so honoured to see Purple Whiskers Shelter Support mentioned on page 13.

We also arranged for the neutering of a couple of our patients. Of the patients we have seen thus far, none of the dogs have been sterilized, but most of the cats have. Cost has been given as a reason for not having the procedure done and we are working closely with a local humane society to offer free or greatly reduced cost to our clients.

At a recent fundraiser, we met a new donor who had experienced interpersonal violence in her household when she was a child. As she teared up telling her story, it was clear that the trauma experienced remains years later and illustrated how important this work is for the entire family. One of the staff at the fundraiser also had a story to tell of a beloved pet having experienced abuse.

Soon one of the Purple Whiskers Shelter Support Partners will be opening their pet-friendly addition. We look forward to that day as it will allow us to help even more pets and their people.