Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Las Vegas shelter for abuse victims and their pets expands to Reno

Noah's Animal 2017

Courtesy of Noah's Animal House

Noah’s Animal House Las Vegas, on the campus of Shade Tree Shelter, has broken ground on a facility in Reno.

The idea for Noah's Animal House came to Staci Alonso more than 10 years ago, when a 19-year-old woman showed up at the door of the Shade Tree shelter for victims of domestic violence in Las Vegas.

The young woman carried a garbage bag full of clothes and her best friend — a cat.

"She refused to check in because they were not allowing her cat," Alonso said Monday on “Nevada Newsmakers,” adding less than 3 percent of domestic violence centers in the U.S allow pets.

"She went on to say that, 'The one person who believed in me the entire time was my cat, and you can't ask me to give her up. I'd just rather go back (to abusive situation)," Alonso said.

Things got straighten out. Alonso took in the cat while the young woman stayed at the shelter. She assured the young woman that her cat would be OK. Alonso even let the cat drink out of her cereal bowl.

That encounter was the start of Noah's Animal Shelter, founded by Alonso and specifically designed for pets of abuse victims. Located next to Shade Tree, it has cared for about 1,400 pets with more than 90,000 boarding nights in a 10-year span, Alonso said.

And it all started with a 19-year-old seeking shelter for her cat.

Alonso asked the woman for her shirt so the cat could have her scent with it at all times.

"That understanding gave her reassurance and support," Alonso said. "The cat went home with me that day, and she (young woman) stayed long enough to heal and reconcile with her family from another state.

“We brought her cat back to her many times and that reunion pretty much put a driving force in me that was unstoppable that this was not going to be a barrier because the women and children have to have their pets by their side in order to heal and first off, escape," Alonso said.

Noah's success has left Alonso, an executive with Station Casinos, with an "encore" career and retirement plan — to grow Noah's Animal House nationally. Staying close to pets in times of crisis helps with the healing, Alonso said.

"I have gone through difficult times in my life, and my two dogs were my rock," Alonso said. "They are excited to see you and sit there and stay by your side. And I thought how can a woman, or a woman with children who had the courage to leave an abusive situation be expected not to bring their pet with them and have them by their side when they needed them the most?"

The first step to grow Noah's Animal House was to break ground Thursday at the residential campus of the Committee to Aid Abused Women shelter in Reno. The CAAW shelter cannot currently accommodate pets.

Click to enlarge photo

A Shade Tree Shelter client bathes her dog at Noah's Animal House Las Vegas.

The 1,300-square-foot building, scheduled to open later this year, will be able to accommodate up to 36 animals. It will feature an arrival room including family boarding and exam rooms; indoor/outdoor dog runs; a sun room for cats with multi-use condos that face the morning sun; two glass-enclosed cuddle rooms offering private time with family; and a dog bathing/spa area.

Like the Las Vegas facility, the Reno Noah's Animal House will attract abuse victims and pets from many states, Alonso said.

"We serve women from New York, Texas, New Mexico, Virginia and obviously, California," Alonso said. "We've had plenty of woman who have driven from Reno to Las Vegas because they would not leave their pet behind. So to be able to offer our services in the north and south, it is just a great accomplishment. … The demand is there, and we can't wait to help the (Reno) community."

Meeting abuse victims and their pets who have traveled hundreds of miles to escape a bad situation is "incredibly overwhelming," Alonso said.

"It certainly explains how strong the human bond is at the time and just how much we really rely on our pets when we are going through a difficult time," she said.

"We had a woman who came from Virginia with three dogs," Alonso said. "We've had a young lady who came from New Mexico after her partner had taken her small dog, grabbed him by the tail and spun him around and broke his tail. … She just got on a bus and found her way," Alonso said.

"It is pretty powerful when a U-Haul pulls up at the Shade Tree shelter from an East Coast state, looking for a fresh start with their pet," she said.

Surveys show that more than 70 percent of women coming to shelters experience pet abuse at their homes, Alonso said.

Staci Alonso, executive vice president for Station Casinos and founder of Noah's Animal House

Staci Alonso, executive vice president for Station Casinos and founder of Noah's Animal House

"Often, there are two situations that became prominent: The first is that at a time the abuser was harming the woman or child, the pet moved in to save (them) and the pet got abused," Alonso said.

"The other component is often the pet is abused, harmed and tortured as a way of controlling the woman," she said. "We have heard, 'If you leave, I will kill the dog.' Or, "We'll injure the dog and say, 'This is what will happen (to you if you leave).' Those are often an early indicator of abuse that is happening in the home."

Alonso is still raising money for the Reno project. Noah's is staffed by volunteers, and more are needed for the Reno venture. In 10 years, Alonso wants to have at least five Noah's Animal Houses across the nation.

"If we could have five Noah's, we will have made a mark," Alonso said. "… When we have two operating (in Las Vegas and Reno), the story becomes even easier to sell outside Nevada."

Ray Hagar is a retired political journalist from the Reno Gazette-Journal and current reporter/columnist for the Nevada Newsmakers podcast and website, nevadanewsmakers.com. Follow Ray on Twitter at @RayHagarNV.

CORRECTION: This version of the story corrects the number of pets cared for by Noah's Animal House in Las Vegas. | (July 10, 2017)

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