Hey everyone!

What a weekend! Our team worked hard to get to the front at Talladega and it was amazing to walk away with another win. Our goal is to keep winning and keep our #22 in victory lane. As always, thank you for your support!

This Week’s Cause: Domestic Violence

This is our final week for raising awareness about domestic violence. I hope I have shared some information that can help individuals or families facing this issue.

Last week, we focused on the effects domestic violence can have, especially on children. For this week’s blog, I want to talk some about a topic that has been given more attention in recent years – animal abuse and its link to domestic violence. In recent years, researchers have been studying and documenting a stronger correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence.

According to the ASPCA, a study of 11 cities showed pet abuse to be a significant indicator of who is at risk for domestic abuse. It makes sense. If someone can harm a living animal, they should be looked at for potential acts of violence against people. Additional information from the site included…

  • Batterers who also abuse pets are more dangerous and use more violent and controlling behaviors than those who do not harm animals.
  • In Wisconsin, 68 percent of battered women revealed that abusive partners had also been violent toward pets or livestock; more than three-quarters of these cases occurred in the presence of the women and/or children to intimidate and control them. 
  • Children who are exposed to domestic violence were three times more likely to be cruel to animals. 
  • The Chicago Police Department found that approximately 30 percent of individuals arrested for dog fighting and animal abuse had domestic violence charges on their records. (Source)

Most of you know that Brittany and I are huge animal lovers. We treat our animals like family and are extremely attached to them. It’s hard to think about how abusers use intimidation tactics like threatening to kill the animal if their partner leaves them or battering an animal to force someone to stay. It causes victims of domestic violence to remain in abusive and sometimes deadly relationships because they are afraid something will happen to their beloved animal.

An incident of animal abuse can tell law enforcement a lot about potential for additional abuse in the family. Knowing the correlation between animal abuse and domestic abuse is extremely strong, law enforcement have an opportunity to ask additional questions when called out for an animal abuse case. They could discover a much bigger issue with the right questions.

It is imperative that first responders understand the connection between animal abuse and family violence. When responding to domestic calls it is imperative to be alert for signs that children and/or pets might be victimized…

This Week’s Joey Logano Foundation Chasing Second Chances Partner

This week’s charity partner as we head to Martinsville is Citizens Against Family Violence.

Citizens Against Family Violence is a leader in the fight against domestic violence, sexual violence and homelessness. They are the only organization that provides services to victims/survivors in Martinsville, Henry County, and Patrick County that provides post-emergency assistance and support programs.

Citizens Against Family Violence is able to make positive changes in the communities and to work toward putting an end to domestic violence through charitable donations by people like you. Your tax-deductible contribution will be used to support our programs that assist victims and survivors of domestic violence.

The Joey Logano Foundation is honored to support this organization and help the women and children that find help through the shelter. Chasing Second Chances will be providing a grant to fund the construction of a new roof. Thank you Citizens Against Family Violence for being a leader in the fight against domestic violence in your community.