A program that partners lawyers and Syracuse University students to advocate for abused animals recently expanded its operation to help find homes for animals who have faced abuse.

The Volunteer Advocate Lawyer for Animal Abuse Court program assigns a lawyer to animals involved in cruelty cases, said Nick DeMartino, the director of the program. Each lawyer represents an animal in court for free and follows the animal from the time police arrest its owner for alleged abuse to the animal’s trial and its aftermath, he said.

The program was initially created to help prosecute animal abusers, but as program volunteers got more involved in cases, they realized there was a need for follow-up after the court proceedings were completed, DeMartino said.

The program now helps animals find safe and loving foster or permanent homes after their trials, he said. It also raises money to pay for the animals’ medical expenses when necessary.

“Our primary function is to try to keep that dog alive,” he said. “These are really the worst of the worst. These are dogs that have been physically abused, emotionally abused or starved and one of our jobs is to work cooperatively with other agencies to try to save them.”

The program also pairs SU students with program lawyers to give them hands-on experience with criminal proceedings in court, DeMartino said. The initiative works in coordination with SU’s chapter of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund to partner students and lawyers.

Alicia Slate, a student volunteer and president of SU’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, said the student volunteers play an important role in the animals’ trials. The students assist in the cases by evaluating the animals’ health, documenting any injuries and taking photos, which are used as evidence in the trial, she said.

Slate, who has been working with the program for two years, also said the students help to re-socialize the animals by playing with them or taking them for walks.

Slate’s dog, Beauty. Courtesy of Alicia Slate

Adam Martin, another SU student volunteer, said that through his work with the initiative, he became more aware of issues that contribute to animal abuse that are common in the Syracuse area.

“Communities that have financial problems will also have incidents of abuse in many areas, like child abuse or any other kinds of family abuse, and that also includes the animals,” he said.

“Animals are also victims to the same types of cycles of crime and poverty that affect the people of a community.”

DeMartino said the program has recently expanded to Suffolk County, on Long Island. He hopes to bring the program to other counties in the state and to have more criminal statutes that allow for prosecution of animal abuse.

Slate said she has gotten a lot from the program despite the emotional distress often involved when dealing with abused animals.

“It’s so rewarding when you see animal that comes from horrendous conditions and just the short end of the stick in life that goes on to find their forever home in the happiest family,” she said. “Even the smallest thing you do in the animal welfare community can go a long way.”

Published on March 24, 2019 at 9:21 pm

Contact Gillian: gifollet@syr.edu