star events digital stories for action jan 2101 healing the innocent: helping abused children and...

STAR EventsDigital Stories for ActionJan 2101

Healing the Innocent: Helping Abused Children and Animals

Kellsea Smith

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Healing the Innocent –

Helping Abused Children and Animals

By Kellsea Smith

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There’s something special to me about animals and children, something that touches me deep inside and changes the way I look at life. I’ve always had that passion for kids and animals but I never knew

that I could learn so much from both.

ScriptIt all began for me in August of 2003 when my first foster sisters arrived. Natalie and Makensie were their names; I never knew that I would be so heart struck till then. Natalie was a shy type of girl and Makensie was a wild two year old -- of course this was somewhat normal, but they were also different from other kids.

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Kellsea Smith

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Natalie and Makensie were abused children. Natalie was told to never talk and Makensie had a third degree burn on her leg from a frying pan being placed to leg when she was

younger.

ScriptI can only imagine what they were thinking when they met our open-armed farm family of five, complete with an 80-dog kennel. When the girls saw the dogs I watched their eyes light up like stars! They went from having nothing, to our family and all those dogs to call their own.

ScriptI suppose that’s also how Zoey, our boxer, felt. We found Zoey tied to a light pole with a log chain around her neck and a sign and, that read, “FREE”; she had been beaten, abused, and starved. I was so shocked when I first saw her and how thin and fearful she was. Over time, Zoey improved, but when Natalie and Mackenzie arrived you could see their special bond.




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ScriptResearch shows that this is often the case. Most kids can relate to animals, so seeing and touching the pets brings them a sense of comfort. Children, especially those who are abused or neglected, are able to communicate with animals.

ScriptA pet offers a safe place for a child with emotional problems. They give unconditional love, providing a security blanket.

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My small community is both lucky and unusual, because we have two active pet therapy organizations. The first, owned by Carol Parmenter at Butterfly Hills Farm, specializes in bringing dogs and miniature horses

into nursing homes and schools




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The Second Chance Barnyard, owned by Shawn Abel, is an abused animal shelter which specializes in adopting and finding homes for abused and neglected animals. Shawn also trains dogs to be “Battle Buddies” for returning soldiers and other victims of psychological trauma.

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Over the past six years, I’ve had about 12 foster brothers and sisters. All have been abused. You probably already know that child abuse is a major problem in America, but did you know that there is often a connection in these cases to animal abuse?

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Nearly three million cases of child abuse are reported each year[; 71% of women and children entering a shelter report that the abuser had injured, killed or abused a family




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ScriptAbused children are more likely to see their pet as their only friend in times of loneliness or stress] but they are also more likely to have had their pets die because abusers often kill, harm or threaten pets in order to force their children to remain quiet.

ScriptInvestigating animal abuse is often how social services first become involved with a family in trouble.

ScriptWays to help prevent both child and animal abuse are quite simple and similar. First, evaluate the situation to make sure abuse is really happening.




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ScriptSecond, report it -- tell someone or call the animal or child abuse hotline numbers. Third, become informed about your state’s laws because the legal definitions of abuse can vary.

ScriptAnd most important, help prevent it by educating others about the problem, and by providing a break for parents or pet owner when possible.

ScriptMohandas Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”




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I would like to add that we should

also be judged by the way we treat

our children, and each other.

ScriptI hope this program inspires you to speak up for the ones that can’t, our pets and our children, and that you will find ways to let them touch your life as they have touched mine.

ScriptBibliography:

Child Abuse/Domestic Violence Sites

http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/animal-abuse-domestic-violence.html

http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/child-abuse.htm

http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/animal-abuse-domestic-violence.html






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ScriptPet Therapy Sites

http://www.sniksnak.com/therapy.html

http://www.happinessonline.org/LoveAndHelpChildren/p6.htm

Animal Abuse Sites http://www.americanhumane.org/about-us/newsroom/fact-sheets/animal-abuse-domestic-violence.html

http://www.animaltherapy.net/ChildAbuse.html

ScriptQuotations:

http://www.dogquotations.com/quotes-about-animals.html

Photos:

Taken by Shawn Abel,2nd Chance Barnyard, and Ben Vickers -- used with permission

ScriptMusic:

"Healing the Innocent: Helping Abused Children and Animals" by Kellsea Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Created with Microsoft Movie Maker by Kellsea Smith, January 2010


http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/




star events digital stories for action jan 2101 healing the innocent: helping abused children and...

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