*TRIGGER WARNING* Some of the content in this episode may include triggers for topics including animal abuse and interpersonal violence. As a reminder, if you are a veterinary student or veterinarian, the VIN Foundation’s confidential peer-to-peer support group vets4vets® is here for you, at no cost, please know, you are not alone. Visit the website to learn more.
Listen in as VIN Foundation Executive Director Jordan benShea has a conversation with Dr. Jennifer Woolf about the current veterinary forensics landscape. Do you know your state’s animal abuse reporting laws? Does the story fit the clinical signs? Do veterinarians need to have experience in veterinary forensics to report animal abuse? In this episode Jennifer covers how animal abuse is currently handled in the veterinary profession, where she sees areas for improvement and the link between animal abuse and interpersonal abuse.
GUEST BIOS:
Dr. Jennifer Woolf
Dr. Woolf received her D.V.M. and M.S. (concentration: Veterinary Forensic Sciences) from the University of Florida (UF). Over the years, she has worked in private practices and animal welfare organizations, including relief work at over 50 locations in the Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA areas. In 2014 she founded Woolf Veterinary Forensics Consulting where she lectures internationally on animal abuse, the Link, and veterinary forensics, as well as investigating and consulting on individual cases. She also works for Veterinary Information Network (VIN), behind the scenes and upfront writing articles and developing materials on animal abuse and veterinary forensics for VIN members and the general public. Additionally, Dr. Woolf is an instructor in the UF Veterinary Forensic Sciences Online Graduate Programs, has published numerous articles and a book chapter on animal cruelty topics, and was a 2018-2019 Don Low-CVMA Practitioner Fellow at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine in the Anatomic Pathology Department. Dr. Woolf is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the International Veterinary Forensic Sciences Association (IVFSA), and a founding member of the Alameda County Animal Cruelty Task Force. Previously she has served on the boards of the IVFSA and the Contra Costa County Veterinary Medical Association.
LINKS AND INFORMATION:
- Animal Legal and Historical Center
- National Link Coalition
- Animal Abuse and Veterinary Forensics Center on the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), VIN membership is required to view
- International Veterinary Forensics Society
- Veterinary Forensics Sciences Online Graduate Program at University of Florida
faculty mentioned:- Adam Stern, DVM, ACVP: forensic veterinary pathologist; co-instructor in the UF program
- Julie Brinker, DVM, MS: shelter veterinarian at Humane Society of Missouri; co-instructor in the UF program
- National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory specifically pathologists Tabitha Viner, DVM, ACVP and Rebecca Kagan, DVM, ACVP
- Dr. Jennifer Woolf Veterinary Forensics Consulting
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TRANSCRIPT
Intro
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: The more I have learned about animal abuse and the forensics, the more I can look back on the 15 or so years of my career before learning this material, and realize I probably missed abuse. I probably didn’t see the signs. I didn’t recognize what I was looking at, and that I remember having those moments where you just have the feeling on the back of your neck that something isn’t quite right, but you’re not sure how to handle it. It’s easier to believe the story provided than to come up with a new one that makes more sense.
Meet Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS
Jordan Benshea: That is Dr. Jennifer Woolf, a small animal veterinarian with a Master’s in Veterinarian Forensics, and this is the VIN Foundation’s Veterinary Pulse podcast. I’m Jordan Benshea, VIN Foundation’s Executive Director. Join me and our cohost and VIN Foundation board member, Dr. Matt Holland, as we talk with veterinary colleagues about critical topics, and share stories. Stories that connect us as humans, as animals, as a veterinary community. This podcast is made possible by individuals like you who donate to the VIN Foundation. Thank you. Please check the Episode notes for Bios, links, and information mentioned. Hey, all!
Trigger Warnings and Support Resources
Jordan Benshea: A quick heads up that some of the content in today’s episode may include triggers for topics including adverse childhood events, also known as ACEs, animal abuse, and interpersonal violence, including child abuse and domestic violence. As a reminder, if you are a veterinary student or a veterinarian, the VIN Foundation’s confidential support group, Vets4Vets, is here for you. You can find information to reach out in the episode notes. Please know you are not alone. Welcome, Jennifer, thank you for joining us.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Thank you for having me. I appreciate this opportunity.
Dr. Woolf’s Journey to Veterinary Medicine
Jordan Benshea: Share with our audience, what is your current role in the veterinary profession?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: I am a small animal oriented veterinarian with an emphasis on veterinary forensics. I study, educate, consult on, and investigate animal abuse cases.
Jordan Benshea: Wow, that’s not an easy job. Thank you for doing that. Did you always know that you wanted to be a veterinarian? I’m sure when you were three, you weren’t thinking I want to investigate animal abuse cases, so what was your journey to veterinary medicine? Was there an aha moment or what led you down this path?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: I’ve known I wanted to be a veterinarian since I was very young, five or six. I had a cat at that time that had developed what was then a fairly new infection, feline leukemia, and the cat succumbed to it soon after the diagnosis was made. In my very young mind at that time, what I knew of leukemia was that people could also get leukemia, and that people had treatments for it, that some of them could be cured, and I thought, why on earth couldn’t anybody do anything for my cat? I need to become a veterinarian so I can save the cats of the world, because at that time research wasn’t in my head. I thought, okay, I’m going to become a veterinarian. It pretty much stayed that way from that age all the way through vet school. I go straight through high school, undergraduate, veterinary college, and out. I did not pause.
Jordan Benshea: Okay.
First Encounter with Animal Abuse
Jordan Benshea: What led you to learning more about animal abuse specifically, or where did that interest grow for you?
The Michael Vick Case and Its Impact
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Veterinary forensics and animal abuse really have not been on the profession’s radar screen until I’d say maybe the last 15 years or so. The Michael Vick case was probably the big one nationwide that really brought it to everyone’s attention. Prior to that, it wasn’t really discussed. It wasn’t talked about in school. So, it wasn’t something that I ever thought of during veterinary school. This is what I want to do later. It couldn’t have been on my radar screen. I was just practicing as a small animal veterinarian doing my thing. At that time, which was I think the early 2000s, mid 2000s, I was working at an animal shelter.
Inauguration into Animal Abuse Cases
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: One day, after coming out of doing a bunch of spays and neuters, getting ready to get some lunch, the executive director came to me and said, “Hey, Jennifer, we’re getting ready to go on a raid. We’re expecting about 50 dog-fighting dogs to be involved. Can you come do triage?” After kind of standing there gape-mouth for a moment, I said, “Yes, I can do triage. I’m perfectly comfortable with emergency work. I’ve done that. I don’t know anything about the legalities of this. I don’t know anything about what do you do with these dogs? How do you handle all that?” She said, “Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all you need to know in the car.” That was my first experience. I ended up at this home in a suburb of the San Francisco Bay Area. The police were already there and had the suspect under control. We went into this house, which looked like any other house on the block. When you walked in, it looked like a normal living room, pictures on the mantel of the family members, toys on the floor from the kids. You walked through the house, got towards the garage, and as you got closer there you started seeing some things were a little off like some syringes and bottles of veterinary medications. Then you open the door to the garage and there were three dogs chained in the front part of the garage where the fighting pit was located. Taxi kennels stacked three high in the back room with dogs in them, and just enough room between the cages to form an aisle for one person to pass up and down the cages. From that location we took in 33 fighting pitbulls and that was my inauguration into animal abuse cases. I took that case from crime scene to courtroom. I had to examine the dogs, take care of them, go in and testify on the case. It really taught me how much I did not know about animal abuse and forensic cases. So, from there, I became fascinated and very interested in learning as much as I could about it, started studying everything I could find. Fortunately, about two to three years later, the University of Florida started their online veterinary forensics program. I joined with the inaugural class and eventually had my master’s degree in veterinary forensics, and now I teach in that program.
Jordan Benshea: Wow, that seems a very intense moment and situation for you to walk into. Was there veterinary syringes and medicine there because they were drugging them or trying to heal them or what? What was the thought with that?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: It’s common in a lot of dog fighting situations to find medications, whether they are over the counter medications bought from the feed store or obtained from a veterinary clinic, that are used for the dogs to treat wounds, to get them prepared for a fight such as using steroid injections. You may find suturing material, lidocaine for giving local anesthetic prior to suturing. There are other medications, again, just depending on what it is that person is utilizing. There are also a lot of other paraphernalia that are commonly seen on dog fighting scenes. So, it’s just one of the things that I now know, didn’t know then, to be looking for on the scene and to be collecting as part of the evidence.
Jordan Benshea: Wow.
Current State of Animal Abuse Awareness
Jordan Benshea: You mentioned a few moments ago that the awareness of animal abuse in the veterinary community sort of started to gain more attention in the last 15 years. Can you describe to us the current situation between animal abuse and the veterinary community?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: We’re getting better than we used to be. I would dare to say that most veterinary schools still do not teach much, if anything, about animal abuse. I think that many students graduating from veterinary schools still do not know anything about the animal cruelty laws in their state. They still may not be aware about any mandatory reporting laws that will affect them; mandatory reporting of animal abuse, mandatory reporting of child abuse, mandatory reporting of elder abuse, or domestic violence. It will depend on the state as to whether or not those laws are in place. I think that students want to know more than they’re being taught in the schools. I think animal abuse is following in the footsteps in some ways of where domestic violence was, where it was one of those things people used to consider to be taboo. We don’t talk about it, we don’t think about it, we don’t acknowledge its existence. It’s becoming something that people are much more aware of, much more willing to investigate, and to become involved in. I think the veterinary community needs to catch up a little bit with that. That animals that have been abused do get seen by veterinarians, they do come to private practices and emergency clinics, they do show up in our shelters as well, certainly.
Challenges in Veterinary Training
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: But if veterinarians don’t have the training, and the knowledge to know what to do when presented with these cases, we will continue to either misdiagnose them because we didn’t recognize the signs, or in some ways to be fearful of proceeding with the case because we don’t know how to handle it correctly. We don’t know who do we call if we suspect animal abuse? What do we do if we think the person in the room with us might be violent towards us or towards clients or staff? What do we do if we’re not sure about whether or not it’s animal abuse? What do we do if it’s after hours and the animal control agency one would normally contact is closed? What if it’s not owned, but it’s a stray? What if it’s a species that isn’t typically considered to be a companion animal, such as a pet turtle, or maybe livestock? All of these are questions that can quickly run through the mind of a veterinarian looking at an animal and thinking they told me it was hit by a car, but I’m just not sure. In school, I was taught how to handle a hit by car. I was taught what to look for, to take the x rays, get lab work, start an IV catheter, and to go over the estimate with the owner to discuss the options of whether or not care and surgery are needed versus euthanasia. All of that, handling the client communications and so forth, we get taught that in school, but if your mind goes to the other side, and you think this doesn’t look like a hit by car, what if this animal was abused? No one taught us what to do next. Do I tell the client that I think it might be abuse? Am I a mandated reporter in this state? If I am, who do I contact about that? If I’m not, am I allowed to make a report? How do I handle that? Is it safe to say anything in the room? What if I think that the client in the room herself is being abused? What if the kids might be abused? All these questions may quickly run through the brain and it’s easy and human to go, “they said it was hit by a car. I’m going to ignore the part that questions that, and I’m going to go with hit by car.” I’m saying all of this not just from out of the world, you know my own thoughts on how it all goes. I’m talking honestly about my own experiences. The more I have learned about animal abuse and the forensics, the more I can look back on the 15 or so years of my career before learning this material, and realize I probably missed abuse. I probably didn’t see the signs. I didn’t recognize what I was looking at, and that I remember having those moments where you just have the feeling on the back of your neck that something isn’t quite right, but you’re not sure how to handle it. It’s easier to believe the story provided than to come up with a new one that makes more sense.
Jordan Benshea: Well, also, if an animal comes in hit by a car, as you’ve said, I know how to deal with hit by a car, and usually if an animal’s hit by a car, that’s an immediate critical need. So, you almost have to compartmentalize, I would imagine, the other aspect of it because you don’t even know how to emotionally deal with that, let alone do anything else with that, but you do know how to physically help this critical patient that just been hit by a car.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Part of it is, certainly, the you know what to do with it, but realize it, whether it was hit by a car or whether it was beaten, the signs can be very similar. They may not be absolutely critical. They can be, it can be an absolute emergency, it may be something that you do have the time to step back and to evaluate a little bit better. Mostly, I think it’s the – they said it was hit by a car and I didn’t ask any questions further. Such as, did you see it get hit by a car? If you didn’t see that it was hit, why do you think it was hit by a car? If you did see it was hit, tell me what happened. What kind of car was it? How fast was the car going? Was it a direct hit, or was it kind of a glancing blow? What kind of road surface were we dealing with – gravel, road, pavement? All these sorts of questions that can help to figure out whether or not hit by car makes sense. Most of the time, when we’re told it was hit by a car, great. We’ve run with the hit by car, and that’s all we know. We do not ask any further questions in part because we never were taught that we should. Who would have thought that people would lie about that? Who would have thought that when they said the dog fell down the stairs, that maybe it didn’t fall down the stairs? We need to ask a few questions to see what’s going on. One of the biggest red flags for animal abuse is does the story fit the clinical signs. Does it make sense that the dog fell down the stairs and has a skull fracture? Does it make sense that the cat fell off the bed and has a broken leg? How many times have we all seen our own cats fall off beds, countertops, bureaus? They bounce, they go. When have you ever taken your own cat in for a fall because of a fracture? You better either be thinking animal abuse, or you need to be finding the calcium/phosphorus deficiency, the osteogenesis imperfecta, the other reason for brittle bones to be having a pathological fracture in that moment. But we don’t think abuse because no one’s taught us to look for that.
The Link Between Animal and Human Abuse
Jordan Benshea: You mentioned earlier, quickly you touched on the signs of abuse between animal and human, child abuse, domestic violence, and I wonder if you could just talk about that a little bit more. What the link is that you have found between animal abuse and interpersonal violence. You and I were chatting before we started recording about how it used to be. Domestic abuse, physical abuse used to be something that was very taboo to talk about, that you weren’t allowed to discuss. I’d say similar to mental health, it’s definitely become more aware in the last several years, but where are those ties? Could we almost look at how domestic abuse has now gained awareness and almost look for a path of ways to help bring awareness to animal abuse from that and how do you see those things linked in your experience?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: We do call it the link, and it is a connection between animal abuse and other forms of interpersonal violence. Those forms of interpersonal violence can include child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, mass shootings, school shootings, and frankly, any other form of violence from one human against another human being. What we know from studies over the years, and there have been over 1,000 studies on this sort of problem, we know that in 80% of homes where the homes are already being investigated and monitored for child abuse, physical child abuse, over 80% of those homes also had animal abuse. We know that there are four indicators of who is more likely to become a domestic violence offender. Those four indicators include a history of mental health problems, lack of formal education, drug and alcohol abuse, and pet abuse. That particular study was done by people outside of the animal industry. That study was done by psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, etc. A lot of the evidence that we have is outside of the animal industry, it’s in the mental health field, it’s in the physicians’ and the human medical side. I think one review said about 7% of all information on the link is actually in the veterinary journals, which is part of the reason the veterinarians aren’t necessarily as up to date on this as we could be. We know that women who are seeking assistance at a domestic violence shelter are less likely to go if they cannot bring their pets with them. About 75% of those people who do go and have had a pet in the past year or so will report that that animal was abused, threatened to be abused, or killed by the same abuser. So, we have a lot of evidence of animal abuse taking place alongside, in conjunction with physical abuse against humans.
Jordan Benshea: Yes, we have another episode with Dr. Susan Cohen that we just recorded. We touched on very briefly a bit about how some women will not leave relationships because they’re scared to leave their pet. They don’t want the pet to get abused if they can’t get into the different shelters. I remember hearing you just mentioned the four different aspects or attributes that you find in the link between animal abuse and interpersonal violence. I remember hearing a while back about something I think was called the McDonald triad, about the connection between excessive bedwetting, animal abuse, and fire starting. How does that hold up in the midst of the four aspects that you just mentioned? Is that McDonald triad still considered valid? Where does that stand?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: At this point, it looks like the McDonald triad is not as valid as once thought. While any one of those particular three attributes, the fire starting and you’re racist, or bedwetting, and animal abuse, can indicate a problem in the home, can indicate future problems, it’s not as though the three are closely tied. So, I think at this point, the McDonald triad has been fairly well debunked in some ways. Yes, the three are important, but we can’t put them together as this grandiose triad that predicts the future the way we once thought that it might.
Law Enforcement and Animal Abuse
Jordan Benshea: Another aspect of this is, I’ve got to imagine, law enforcement. You’ve mentioned that a lot of veterinary colleagues are not taught in school the specific mandatory or just allowed animal abuse reporting laws in different states, at least within the United States. I’m wondering how law enforcement deals with animal abuse or if they do at all, and so I’m wondering if you can share with the audience about the connection between law enforcement and animal abuse?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: You know that’s a tough group to work with at times. They tend to be very stoic. They see a lot, and they tend to think of animal crimes as being something that animal control deals with, but that they’re not considered part of what police officers or sheriff’s deputies deal with. One of the things that we would like to see more of and I’m kind of using a general ‘we’ there, is that the laws in many states are on the books against animal cruelty. All 50 states at this time do have some sort of a felony animal cruelty law on their books. If police officers and other law enforcement officers would enforce those laws just as they would any other law on the book, it would help them, it would help our community, and it would help the animals, certainly. One of the things that we are looking at in the forensics field is the connection between officers’ safety and animal abuse in a home.
Jordan Benshea: Interesting, okay.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: What studies are beginning to show is that when officers get called out for, say, a domestic violence situation in a home, if there’s known animal abuse, or animals that have been killed in that home, the officers are at greater risk for their personal safety when they get to that home. So, it’s not something that isn’t important to them, that having just the knowledge of she’s being abused, the kids are being abused, and the animals are being abused or killed. It is important for their own safety, too. We want them to be involved in these cases.
Jordan Benshea: Right. Wow. It’s interesting when you say that they almost rely a lot on animal control, that reminds me of the similarities between if a policeman or a law enforcement representative goes on almost a mental wellness check of somebody, they are only able to really do whatever is allotted in their toolbox, if you will, of what they’re able to do there, and the majority of the law enforcement officers, of course, are not trained mental health professionals. So, the aspects that they might find are very different than a mental health professional might find. I would have to imagine, similarly, if an animal control officer is going, they’re not going to be so well trained in physical or domestic abuse. They’re just more this is an animal that needs to get removed from the situation for one reason or another. It seems like that puts really a lot on the animal control officers, and that seems, I want to say unfair, but almost probably also not the right path to go. I’m just curious about your insight on that.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: The amount of training and education that animal control officers, also sometimes referred to as humane law enforcement officers, get vary dramatically from one location, one jurisdiction to another. Some are extremely well trained, and some have a lot of authority and powers. In other locations, they’re not well trained, and they don’t have much authority or much power. So, it really just depends on the location. What these officers can do in many places, not everywhere, is that they have the authority to go and investigate if an animal is safe. If they arrive at a scene, and there’s concern about the animal’s safety, they are authorized to have the animal brought to them if the owner is home and available to do that, or to even go on to the property without a search warrant necessarily, to go see how the animal is. That gives animal control officers a way to see in an area that police officers may not be allowed to go without a search warrant. Sometimes the animal control officers’ ability to see things is actually better than what the police officers are able to see. So, if the two parties can work together, they can work well. They can then help each other with these sorts of situations. In a for instance, if police are called out to a domestic violence scene, and maybe she’s not hurt to the level that is authorizing them to make an arrest, or she’s going back on what she said a moment ago, then they may not have anything they can do about the situation. But if an animal has been harmed or killed on that same scene, and they enforce those laws, with or without animal control being present as well, now they have something they can do because perhaps the same person who is harming his wife could be arrested for harming or killing the cat. So, it gives them a way and a tool to work with the situation. I’m going to take a moment here, I want people to realize that I tend to use male pronouns when referring to abusers, and female pronouns when referring to the domestic violence victims and the like. I do this in part just to be simple and make it clear so that it’s easier to understand when I’m communicating, and I do it in part because with the exception of animal hoarding, the majority of animal abusers are male.
Jordan Benshea: Okay, that’s a good point to make. Thank you.
Resources for Veterinary Colleagues
Jordan Benshea: I was going to say where do you see room for improvement, but I feel like there’s endless room for improvement here. So maybe a better question would be what resources are helpful to veterinary colleagues looking for more information about this topic, and wanting to learn, wanting to find out, I would say, education on how they can start to think. If we use the example of a hit by a car, how instantly they think, okay, hit by a car dog, how do I treat this dog versus taking that moment to evaluate? Where should colleagues start to even begin this education and knowledge base.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: There are a lot of locations that veterinarians can go to for more information on animal abuse and veterinary forensics. Certainly, VIN is a great resource. We do have some newer resources available, including the Specialty Center on Animal Abuse and Veterinary Forensics. There are also other websites that can get information on animal abuse and veterinary forensics. There’s the National Link Coalition, which has fantastic information on the connection between animal abuse and interpersonal violence. There is the animallaw.info website, which is the Michigan State University’s website on animal laws. They have terrific consolidation of laws, very easy to use website, I highly recommend that one. Certainly, the AVMA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund have good information on their websites. For those who are looking for more specific education, as I mentioned earlier, the University of Florida has a Veterinary Forensic Sciences program that will allow you to get a graduate certificate or a master’s degree. It is an online program, you are not required to be in Gainesville, Florida in order to access the program. There are others that are coming out nationally and worldwide, it feels like every other day at this point. This is a very up and coming area. So, if you just do a search in your browser for animal abuse forensics, you’re likely to find some good information.
Jordan Benshea: Okay, and all of these links that Jennifer mentioned, we will link in the Episode notes along with the other topics that we’re talking about. As always, we will be linking to these things. You don’t need to stop if you’re driving or if you’re walking or running, however, you might be listening to this podcast. All that information will be in the Episode notes. What are some things that veterinary colleges could do better? Do you think it’s about adding classes on animal abuse? It’s tricky, because usually where veterinarians go to veterinary school is not necessarily where they end up state wise. They might go to one school, say they go to Illinois, and they learn about the laws in Illinois, but then they end up practicing in California, or New York, or etc. So, what suggestions do you have for veterinary schools that want to improve in this area?
Integrating Forensics into Veterinary Education
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: I think that veterinary schools could certainly develop a standalone class on forensics, but I don’t think that that’s a requirement. I realize that the veterinary schools have a great deal of information to impart to all of their students and in a short time relatively speaking to get it all done. So, I think it’s something that could be incorporated into many classes more organically. If it isn’t something that could be done as a standalone class. As a for instance, during classes on orthopedics along with discussing what are the biomechanics of fractures and making sure students understand the importance of those biomechanics, explain how biomechanics can be used in forensics to try to determine whether or not the story fits the signs that are being seen. Do biomechanics explain a skull fracture from a cat falling off a bed onto a carpeted floor? Does the story of he picked up the cat and threw it to the floor make more sense? So, let’s start incorporating animal abuse as one of the differentials that we need to consider for a lot of different signs, so that it’s not a standalone, because it isn’t something that is going to be standalone much of the time, if you see it at your clinic.
Recognizing Signs of Animal Abuse
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Certainly, veterinarians get involved in cases because animal control or law enforcement brings in an animal with a statement of, we know this animal was abused, it was caught on camera, we have the witnesses, we saw it in action, whatever it was. But it certainly also happens that they bring it in saying we found this animal and it was hurt by the side of the road. We think it was hit by a car. The veterinarian is the one who’s going to say it doesn’t make sense to be hit by a car. I’m concerned of abuse, this is why, and go into that. There is also the possibility of good Samaritans bringing in animals. Again, I found the animal, it’s hurt, please help it. That can certainly happen, but sometimes your good Samaritan isn’t actually a good Samaritan. Sometimes the person who claims to be a good Samaritan is a victim of domestic violence. She wants to get help for her dog, but she can’t afford to. She doesn’t have access to the finances because he controls them. He’s sitting in the car expecting her to come right back out. So, she can’t claim it’s her dog. She doesn’t want to admit what’s happening. She’s trying to protect him. Whatever the case may be, she claims that she’s a good Samaritan, but the story doesn’t make sense. Then finally, despite what many people may believe, animals who have been abused may be brought in by their abusers. It’s hard to believe, but studies again show animals that have been abused are seen by veterinarians at the same frequency as animals who are not abused, and the abuser may be the one who’s bringing it in. They may have a story that is completely illogical. They may give a story and hope that you don’t delve into it any further. They may say outright, I just kicked the dog a little bit with my foot just to get them away from the couch, but the dog has a broken jaw. It’s a medium set breed dog, 50 pounds. Does kicking the dog away from the couch just a little bit with my foot make sense to then have a broken jaw? It might. You might find a pathological fracture there. It might be that the dog has a tumor on the jaw that caused that to happen. But if you cannot confirm that, if you cannot prove that the story to be true, you need to start asking a few more questions.
Veterinarian’s Role in Reporting Abuse
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: One thing that veterinarians often believe, that is not correct, is that they are the ones who have to determine whether or not abuse has occurred. To make it very clear, animal abuse is a legal definition. What constitutes animal abuse in one state may not be abuse in another state. Therefore, whether or not abuse has occurred is determined by those in the legal system, the attorneys and law enforcement. What the veterinarian’s role is, is to identify signs that can be consistent with, emphasis on consistent with, animal abuse, to document those signs, and to let authorities know what might be going on. They do not need to know who did it. They do not need to know if it’s actually abuse. You have to take the next step though, to report suspicions of abuse if suspicions are there. That’s the role of the veterinarian.
Jordan Benshea: Wow, it seems a lot for them to handle in the midst of handling everyday veterinary business. I know a majority of our veterinary colleagues are so busy and so slammed right now, on a day-to-day basis, and it’s clearly a really important aspect for everyone to be aware of.
Continuing Education and Legal Requirements
Jordan Benshea: When we talk about increasing awareness and education, I know that there are state CE requirements. What do you think about those including animal abuse, education and mandatory reporting, etc., based on the state requirements or laws?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: I would love to see continuing education required for this because so many of us have graduated without having learned anything in school that I think we need to have it as part of our continuing education. Certainly, it is something that is happening in many different conferences. There will be a class or even a complete day’s worth or longer on animal abuse and forensics. Depending on the state will depend on whether or not there’s continuing education requirements at all for continuing and renewal of the veterinary license, and whether or not they have specific continuing education requirements, such as in my current state of California. In the last few years, they have now mandated that we get education of one hour on antimicrobial use. Terrific. Let’s now make it one hour on, it could be other aspects perhaps of legal matters related to the veterinary field, but I would love it if it was about veterinary forensics and animal abuse. Whether you’re learning about mandated reporting laws, or you’re learning about the animal abuse laws in your state, or you’re learning what your signs are of animal abuse. How are you going to document animal abuse? If you need to collect evidence, how do you collect that evidence? All of this is something that I think that we should know more in our private practices, our emergency clinics, etc., as well as, certainly, shelter medicine. Animal abuse is like child abuse for pediatricians, you may never want to see it, but you’re probably going to during your career, and it’s best if you know what to do if it comes across your doorstep.
Jordan Benshea: Do you find that many veterinary colleagues think that in order to report animal abuse, they need to have specific training in veterinary forensics?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: I think they worry that they need to have that training. I think that they worry that they do not have the skills, the education, the knowledge to be able to make that report. Again, I think a lot of it is because we go through four years of veterinary school never being taught what the signs are of animal abuse. The way I’ve talked about it before is that it’s like the old adage from the Supreme Court of pornography, you’ll know it when you see it. Well, there’s a lot of people who would say, “What’s considered pornography? Is this considered pornography? Is that?” So, it’s not quite as clear cut as we want to think. Imagine going through four years of veterinary school, and no one ever taught you how to actually look at a radiographic image. That you’ve got this image, it’s black and white, lots of gray’s, it’s up on the screen, you’re looking at it, and you have no idea what’s going on, and every one of your professors have told you don’t worry, you’ll know it when you see it. You’ll figure it out when you need to. You’re going to get it later. You get out of school, and you don’t know how to read a radiograph, because you need to be taught to see what’s in front of you. And that’s what animal abuse often is like, is that you need to be taught to see what is actually in front of you, so that you can see why the claim of hit by car fell, down the stairs, whatever it might be, doesn’t make sense for what you’re actually getting for clinical signs.
Handling Dangerous Situations in the Clinic
Jordan Benshea: Do you think that some veterinary colleagues might be concerned, I’ve got to imagine, for their own safety, if they say something to their clients? Do you recommend they say something to the clients? Obviously, it’s going to vary state to state in terms of what they can do, but I’ve got to imagine there’s some veterinary colleagues that are concerned for their safety about bringing this up with the client.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Absolutely, and they are right to be concerned. If you’re afraid of the person who’s in the room, absolutely, don’t say what you’re thinking. Leave the room under any pretense, you need to go wash your hands, you need to get a pen, you forgot your stethoscope, whatever it might be, but get yourself out of the room to start with. Contact law enforcement and explain that you’re fearful of the person in the room. You’re afraid the person may become violent. Law enforcement should show up for that, regardless of anything that may or may not be happening for animal abuse. I also will often recommend that colleagues have a code word that if they need to say something in front of a client, but they need to code it so that they aren’t saying, “I’m scared of the person, can you please get me help?” Oftentimes, what I will recommend is that they use a word like Leo, which is an abbreviation that we’ll use meaning law enforcement officer. Well, Leo could also be the name of somebody, so pretend that you have a technician in the back and just call out that, you know, hey, you need Leo to come in. If that’s the catchphrase for everybody, and we all know it, then somebody else can call police while the doctor may still feel as though they need to be in the room, because they feel like they can’t leave, because they feel like they need to keep the person in view. They’re worried about their staff, they’re worried about their clients, whatever it may be. Cameras in the parking lot and in the lobby can also be very helpful to keep an eye on what’s going on as well as to have evidence. if necessary, unfortunately, later. It’s also important to remember that this sort of stuff can show up in your clinic, whether you meant it to or not, and whether or not the animal has been abused or not. There was a case just a few years ago, of a woman who was being abused by her boyfriend at their home, and he was essentially holding her, he kidnapped her. She gave the excuse somehow convincing him that the dog needed to be seen at the vet’s office. So, the two of them took the dog to the vet’s office, and she found a moment to pass a slip of paper to the receptionist, saying I’m being held. I’ve been kidnapped. I’m afraid. He has a gun, please call for help. They managed to keep the two of them and the dog occupied in the exam room somehow waiting. The receptionist got a call out to police who quietly came in, went straight to the exam room, and were able to arrest him without any further incident. At which point she was able to reveal her own injuries, the dog had not been harmed. So, sometimes this stuff will show up again whether or not we want it to. The more prepared we are to deal with this, I think of it as being, like I’m in California, we prepare for earthquakes because we don’t know when they’re going to happen. If you live in the Midwest, you prepare for tornadoes because you don’t know when they’re going to happen. Have a plan in place, get your standard operating procedures lined up, know what everybody’s going to do if you’re having somebody you’re afraid of.
Community Involvement and Reporting
Jordan Benshea: If we have some animal lovers listening, what types of things can they do to improve their awareness or ways in which they can help?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Oh, I could go in many different directions. If there are animal lovers who are concerned about say like a neighbor abusing the pet or family members, contact police, contact your local law enforcement and express your concern. There’s one study that is out in the last few years that says that in domestic violence cases, a real problem during COVID, unfortunately, the majority of the time when that is reported it’s by the woman who’s being abused after the abuser has left the home. In animal abuse cases, the majority of the time the report comes from a neighbor, a passerby, a service worker who happened to see what was going on. So, the reports on animal abuse are usually coming from outside of the home, the reports of domestic violence are often coming from within the home. So, what is important as animal lovers is to report suspicions. Not only do you have the opportunity to save that animal, but you may also save other animals who are in the home that you can’t see, you may save the lives of people in that home, whether you see those people or not. Basically, I would say, make the report would be the big one. I think other ways that animal lovers can help can be just support their local shelters, and in particular, without wanting to get into a huge debate on kill and no-kill shelters, support your municipal shelters who often are the ones who have to deal with animal abuse and animal cruelty cases, and are often terribly underfunded. They are often also referred to as the kill shelters because they take in everything. I’m not saying don’t support the non-governmental type shelters, absolutely support them as well. They’re doing fantastic work as well, but don’t start separating it into the kill “shelters” are no good, because they’re municipal and they euthanize animals, because they may be the ones who are dealing with these cases the most. They may not have the resources; they may be the ones who need the help.
Jordan Benshea: Right. I should say when I say animal lovers, obviously, we’re all animal lovers here, so I meant more specifically those who love animals who are not in the veterinary profession because I know that we have some listeners who fall into that category. What else do you think our listeners should know or veterinary colleagues should know about the subject?
Emotional and Sexual Abuse of Animals
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: One big point that I didn’t get into earlier that I think is extremely vital to know is that in addition to physical abuse, and the connection of physical abuse against the people, as well as the animals in the home, sexual abuse can also be going on in the home against people and against the animals. There’s a very high correlation between those who prey on animals and sexually abuse them and those who prey on children and sexually abuse them. So, there’s sexual abuse going on against an animal and there’s children around, there’s the high possibility that those children are being abused as well. Another reason to not just do a, oh boys will be boys and it’s not a big deal, when it comes to sexual assault of an animal. Realize that not every state actually prohibits sexual abuse of animals. This is where I was talking earlier about how as veterinarians, we are not lawyers, we do not need to know every detail of the law, we should not be expected to know every detail of the law. This is why animal abuse is a legal definition because if sexual abuse of an animal is illegal in one state, but not illegal in another state, then it is only a crime in one state, but not in the other state. If the animal has been physically harmed, that may still be abuse and a crime in both states, but animals, just like people, can be sexually assaulted and not have physical harm. Oftentimes, it’s dogs and horses, and oftentimes, it’s the pet that’s in the household that is being abused. Another big point I would like to bring up that I didn’t get into is emotional abuse of animals. We do not currently in the US really have any good laws for emotional abuse of animals. This may be changing over time, but right now, it’s considered one of those things that we don’t deal with. We can’t do much about, but certainly, it’s something to be aware of, because I think that we will eventually get to a point where emotional abuse is just as important as the physical abuse.
Jordan Benshea: Can you share with our audience some examples of what you think is defined as emotional abuse for animals?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Oh, emotional abuse can be the animal that is physically abused, but “not that badly.” Physical abuse signs don’t necessarily show up well on animals. The fur protects them a great deal from having physical abuse signs. Their skin is not quite the same as what we think of for humans and what we will see of bruises and such on humans. So, it’s not unusual, for better or for worse, that somebody can catch on video, for instance, a dog being hit repeatedly with its leash. Yet when it’s examined by the veterinarian, the veterinarian says I can’t find a single mark. It’s not that the abuse didn’t take place, it’s that there isn’t any physical evidence of the abuse. I would still suspect that that animal has suffered not only physical abuse, even though there wasn’t a mark left, but also emotional abuse because it wouldn’t surprise me if that animal becomes afraid of that person. Now with that said, like what we can see with children who are abused, or women who were victims of domestic violence, there can still be a tight relationship between the abuser and the animal. That not every animal is going to sadly become afraid of the abuser and run away from the abuser. The animal may still show affection towards the abuser. So, we can’t use that as our sign that everything is okay or not okay. Emotional abuse of an animal is a very difficult thing to try and tease out. Other things that can be signs of emotional abuse, in my personal opinion, again, this is not a legal opinion, can be things like the dog that’s tethered outside all the time in all weather. Maybe it has a doghouse, so it has what’s considered legal shelter, and it gets food and water. So, it gets cared for to the minimum that is required by law. That’s not a life for a dog. I would consider that to be emotional abuse.
Final Thoughts and Resources
Jordan Benshea: Gosh, we’ve covered a lot of things in this episode, and none have been very uplifting, but I think the uplifting part is that there is more awareness coming, and that there is a lot more awareness now than there were 20, 25 years ago. Thanks to veterinary colleagues like you, you’re doing amazing work and spreading the education and the awareness so that others can become more aware and help the situations they find themselves in. Thank you so much for your time, Jennifer, I really appreciate it. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us about this. I could see this being multiple episodes, and more down the line, especially as more things come to light about this topic. Is there anything else that you want to leave our audience with before we end today?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: One more thought, actually, thank you, I would like to let people know about. I know I mentioned earlier, the National Link Coalition and their website. They also have a monthly newsletter. It’s an emailed newsletter, and if you would like to receive that it is free. You just need to contact Phil Arkow who is the leader, a coordinator of the National Link Coalition, and he publishes the enewsletter. Let him know and he will put you on that email list. It is phenomenal the amount of information he provides in that monthly email, that monthly enewsletter. There is so much information on what is going on internationally about the link and the causes, about the laws that are being passed in the United States and what laws are under consideration. This can help you if you’re interested in being involved in working towards new laws in your area, what’s out there, who might you contact. He also includes news stories on current events of animal abuse and the link. It’s chock full of terrific information. So, I would recommend that people contact him and it’s available to anyone. You do not need to be in the veterinary profession. You can be an animal lover and be on that newsletter as far as I know at least.
Jordan Benshea: Wonderful! We will add a link to that as well. I definitely want to sign up for that and just get more information.
Balancing Veterinary Work and Personal Life
Jordan Benshea: Another question is, really for you, is how do you as a veterinarian, balance all these things that you see and learn about? Then also, finding joy in the profession and for practicing. How does that work for you?
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: That’s hard. For me, a lot of it is seeing and remembering where I was as a person back in, say, the late 2000s when I was first being introduced to this subject, and where our profession is, and seeing, it sometimes feels glacial, but we are making progress. We’re moving in a forward direction, there’s more than there used to be. There’s law enforcement getting more involved. The FBI just a few years ago, has started tracking animal abuse. When they didn’t use to track it in any way, shape, or form. They’re now tracking the four most common types of abuse, physical and intentional abuse and torture, sexual abuse, organized fighting, and gross and simple neglect. This is a something that they are starting to get more numbers on. So, we’ll have more data so we can then know where we need to focus our resources better. I’ve seen it in my own area where I live, of what I know of from when I was first dealing with animal abuse cases and what wasn’t being done that we should have been doing and the training we didn’t have, and so forth, to cases that I receive now that they’ve done all this great investigative work. That the police and the animal control officers were working together on. In New York City, the ASPCA and the New York City Police Department have done an incredible, admirable joint venture to really bring up the amount of investigation into animal abuse cases there, and they have spread the joy, if you will. They are involved in investigations across this country. So, we’re getting there. We’re doing better, we’re doing more. And that’s a lot of what will make me happy at the end of the day, is that it’s improving. We’re making some steps. So, I think that by the time I retire, hopefully we’ll be doing amazing things for the forensics field and with animal abuse.
Jordan Benshea: Well, you are clearly already.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Thank you!
Jordan Benshea: One question I love asking people just to give some insight into them at the end of this podcast is do you have a secret talent or something that you enjoy doing, which others might not know about? The answers are regularly not what I’m expecting. Somebody is like I’m really into Batman! I thought, Oh, okay. Never expected that!
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: This takes up so much of my time right now that I don’t do a lot of extracurriculars outside of the usual for life stuff. The one thing that I did when COVID was really coming down on everyone hard and we’re all in our homes kind of going, oh my gosh, the world is ending. What do we do? I brought out my sewing machine for the first time in a very long time. I do some quilting, and because it was COVID, I was making masks. So, with that, I started to then put together what I have called my COVID quilt, because it was scraps from the masks. It’s not particularly good because it was scraps, and they weren’t nice little perfect triangles and so forth. It wasn’t from a pattern or something like that, but it was a mental break that I desperately needed. So, I have my COVID quilt.
Jordan Benshea: That’s wonderful. That’s a great use of re-upcycling the materials.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Yeah, I hate to throw things away.
Jordan Benshea: That’s wonderful. Thank you so much, Jennifer, for your time, for everything that you’re doing for our veterinary colleagues and for the profession, and for our animals that we all love so, so deeply. I can’t fathom, I love my animals so much, the idea of them being hurt. I know that during COVID, especially even in my county, that animal and child abuse was really up, and it’s heart wrenching. Thankfully, because of colleagues like you, we are making improvements and there’s hope. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for what you’re doing.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Thank you for having me on. I truly appreciate having the opportunity to spread the word, spread the Gospel, to get the word out to everyone.
Jordan Benshea: Absolutely. We want to share the word. We want to share the information. We want to increase awareness. I’m sure that we’ll be doing more episodes. Thank you so much for joining us, Jennifer.
Jennifer Woolf, DVM, MS: Thank you.
Outro
Jordan Benshea: Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Veterinary Pulse. Please check the Episode notes for additional information referenced in the podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast, please follow, subscribe, and share a review. We welcome feedback and hope you will tune in again. You can find out more about the VIN Foundation through our website, VINFoundation.org and our social media channels. Thank you for being here. Be well.
