Purina and RedRover Award 4 New Purple Leash Project Grants

Purina and the nonprofit RedRover have awarded four new Purple Leash Project grants to help domestic violence shelters make pet-friendly renovations. The latest grant recipients include Finding Grace Ministries in Jefferson, County, MO; Women’s Resource Center in Newport County, RI; Monarch Services – Servicios Monarca in Santa Cruz County, CA and Seminole County Victims’ Rights Coalition Inc in Seminole County, FL. Funding will provide pet-friendly upgrades and resources to domestic abuse survivors and their pets at each shelter, including pet-safe housing, veterinary care, outdoor pet play yards and supplies.

Together, through the Purple Leash Project, Purina and RedRover are working to help domestic violence shelters across the country become pet-friendly so that survivors and their pets can escape abuse and heal together. Currently, only about 15 percent of domestic violence shelters in the United States allow pets.

“Nearly half of all domestic violence survivors will delay leaving their abuser if they can’t bring their pet with them, which is a choice that nobody should have to make,” said Nina Leigh Krueger, CEO and President of Purina. “Luckily, the number of resources to help survivors and their four-legged family members escape abuse and heal together is growing every day, and Purina is humbled to help lead the charge alongside our partners at RedRover to make more pet-inclusive resources available.”

Since the Purple Leash Project was founded in 2019, Purina has provided more than $1 million in funding and is working together with RedRover toward a goal of helping to ensure that at least 25 percent of domestic violence shelters are pet-friendly by 2025. To date, 34 grants totaling $701,850 have now been gifted to domestic violence shelters across the US by Purina providing thousands of safe nights for survivors with pets.

“RedRover and Purina’s Purple Leash Project grant will help Finding Grace Ministries become the first pet-friendly human shelter in Jefferson County, MO,” said Doreen Page, Finding Grace Ministries Executive Director. “We’re so thankful to both organizations for helping us bring our dreams of providing real, impactful solutions to survivors of domestic violence to reality.”

To learn more about the Purple Leash Project, donate or sign up for ongoing updates, visit Purple Leash Project

If you know someone who is being abused and ready to leave with their pet, they can find information on pet-friendly shelters in their area at Safe Place For Pets.