It’s not good to keep secrets, right?  Yes, but sometimes it makes sense.  In the case of the New Hampshire SPCA, our best kept secret is a program that we are very proud of, our Safe Pet Program.  For more than 25 years, the NHSPCA has been quietly providing a safe haven for animals in need of temporary emergency housing.  This housing has traditionally been offered in the case of an individual or family in crisis due to domestic violence.    We would receive a call from a woman, most often, seeking a safe place to house her pet while she flees her home in search of safety.   Domestic Abuse Shelters also call to help facilitate housing for the pet(s), as the shelters themselves are unable to take in pets with woman and families.

Victims of domestic abuse often stay, despite their terrifying, brutal home life, because they fear for the safety of their beloved pet.  This program offers them the safety and peace of mind to be able to leave.

So why has it been under the radar all these years?  It hasn’t been a secret really, it’s just that we have had limited space and resources to provide the service.  Until now…

We recently received a grant from PetSmart Charities to help us expand this much needed service.  We are so grateful for their support and for their acknowledgement that providing services to people and pets in crisis should be a major initiative.  In addition, we now have additional space available in the property we recently acquired through our transformative “Campaign for Changing Times”.   By employing the space immediately, we can begin to serve more people in need of emergency temporary housing for their pets.  In the past few years, we have been asked by people facing homelessness due to eviction if they could qualify under ‘Safe Pet’.  We have done everything within our resources to accommodate them.   But it has been difficult.  Now with the extra space and the PetSmart Charities grant, we can more systematically offer emergency housing as an alternative to surrender.

We believe that the unconditional love of and by a pet is a gift that everyone deserves.  Finances don’t determine how much a person loves their pet. But finances and harsh realities can be major limiting factors in being able to keep a pet.   Often when people are going through difficult, life changing circumstances, it is their pet that gives them some sense of purpose and reason to hold on.  By being able to help people to keep their pet safe while they sort through their difficult circumstances, we are able to avoid surrender and reunite pets with the family that already loves them. “Safe Pet” saves families and we are honored to be a part of that.

For more information, please contact us at 603-772-2921.