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Veterinary teams can support a One Health response to domestic violence by noticing possible concerns, creating a safe opportunity to talk privately, and connecting clients with qualified human and animal services. Animal abuse can be a warning sign in a wider context, but it does not prove that a client is experiencing domestic violence. A veterinary professional’s role is to care for the animal, communicate safely, and offer appropriate referrals—not to investigate or diagnose a client’s circumstances.
What does veterinary medicine have to do with domestic violence?
One Health recognizes that the health of people, animals, plants, and the environment is connected. The U.S. government definition, reproduced by the CDC, describes it as a collaborative, multisectoral approach to achieving better health outcomes by recognizing those connections. The CDC’s overview of One Health was updated June 27, 2025.
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Veterinary clinics are part of this broader picture because people often seek care for their animals even when they are not ready to ask for help for themselves. A veterinary team may notice changes in an animal’s condition, a client’s behavior, or the way a partner interacts with either of them. These observations can prompt a careful, compassionate response; they are not proof of abuse.
The American Animal Hospital Association’s 2025 One Health guidelines frame care around the family and include an intimate-partner-violence scenario. AAHA says that better communication and collaboration between veterinary and human-health professionals can support patient and family outcomes, the human-animal bond, and public health. The guidelines also acknowledge that systematic, evidence-based guidance specific to this kind of family-centered One Health care remains limited, with recommendations relying in part on expert consensus. Read the AAHA guidelines introduction.
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Why a pet can affect someone’s safety choices
A person weighing whether to seek shelter may be concerned about what will happen to a pet. AAHA reports that a survey conducted by the Urban Resource Institute and the National Domestic Violence Hotline found that 97% of respondents considered keeping their pets important when seeking shelter, and half would not consider shelter for themselves without their pet. AAHA’s passage does not state the survey year, so these figures should be understood as results from that named survey—not as a current population-wide estimate. AAHA’s article on veterinary medicine and domestic violence reports the findings.
Pet-friendly shelter options, foster arrangements, and capacity vary locally. Knowing what is actually available can help a clinic offer useful choices rather than assume a client can bring an animal to any shelter.
How a veterinary team can respond safely
Prepare the whole clinic
Training should include reception and support staff as well as veterinarians and technicians. Teams need to know how to respond calmly and without judgment, where to find local and national support information, and how to follow practice protocols. Keep information accessible in places where a client can review it privately, and identify a private, secure room and a safe way to make a call.
Plan for situations in which a suspected abuser is present. A discreet process for offering a private conversation or use of an office phone can avoid drawing attention to the client. Staff should not improvise a confrontation or signal suspicion in front of another person.
Offer privacy, choices, and a referral
If a concern arises, look for a safe opportunity to speak with the client without the other person present. Use open, nonjudgmental language; listen without pressing for details; and ask what kind of help, if any, the client wants. Offer options such as contacting a local domestic-violence organization or asking about a pet-friendly shelter. Do not tell someone to leave or confront an alleged abuser: those decisions require individualized safety planning with qualified support.
AAHA describes a clinic scenario in which staff arrange a private conversation and help a client safely call a local shelter that accepts pets. The practical lesson is to offer access and choice, not to assume one solution will fit every person or animal.
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Build connections before a crisis
Clinics can establish relationships with local survivor services, shelters, animal-welfare organizations, foster networks, and veterinary partners in advance. A maintained referral list should distinguish services that can accommodate pets from those that cannot, and should be checked for current availability. National resources can complement local options, but they do not replace confirming what is accessible in the client’s area.
Follow local rules and practice protocols
Veterinary teams should know their organization’s procedures for suspected animal cruelty, records, reporting, and confidentiality. The AVMA’s training materials identify reporting suspected cruelty and confidentiality as topics for professional preparation, and its cruelty guidance recommends having practice protocols. See the AVMA’s suspected animal cruelty guidance.
Legal duties and permissions are not uniform across jurisdictions. Before disclosing information or making a report, staff should consult current local law, applicable professional rules, and organizational protocols. The available guidance does not establish one reporting or confidentiality rule that applies everywhere.
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Recognizing a concern is not diagnosing abuse
Research and veterinary guidance describe an association between animal abuse and interpersonal or domestic violence, including the use of harm to an animal as a means of intimidation or control. But association is not proof about any individual client. Definitions vary, training gaps remain, and an animal’s injury or a client’s behavior may have more than one explanation. A 2022 review of animal abuse as an indicator of domestic violence discusses both the potential for recognition and the limits of the evidence.
The appropriate response is proportionate: attend to the animal’s welfare, create a safe chance for private communication, offer resources without judgment, and seek qualified help when wanted. A clinic should neither dismiss a concern nor treat a warning sign as a verdict.
What effective One Health collaboration looks like
One Health work depends on veterinary and human-health professionals communicating within their roles. Veterinary teams can contribute observations about animal welfare and help connect clients with services; domestic-violence professionals can provide specialized support and safety planning. Local partnerships make referrals more useful and clarify where to turn for questions about shelter, animal care, confidentiality, or reporting.
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This is a practical contribution, not a claim that veterinary clinics can solve domestic violence alone. The aim is to make it easier for a person and their animal to receive appropriate support while protecting privacy and avoiding assumptions.
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