BELLEFONTE — In the last decade, 1,496 deaths in Pennsylvania were attributed to domestic violence. In 2015 alone, 68 women and 45 men died as a result of the crises.
On Thursday, Oct. 6, Centre County recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month with a rally on the steps of the Centre County Courthouse. Unlike domestic violence rallies of the past, last week’s event didn’t directly focus on the victims of the acts, but instead, the influence animal abuse has in domestic situations, as well as ways of preventing it.
“Unfortunately, animal abuse is one way to exert power and control in domestic situations, and it happens all too often,” said Ann Ard, executive director of the Centre County Women’s Resource Center, as she welcomed the dozens in attendance. “We believe all members of the family deserve a safe home, and that includes the pets.”
Ard thanked Centre County Commissioners Michael Pipe, Mark Higgins and Steve Dershem for their support prior to the reading of the official “Centre County Domestic Violence Awareness” proclamation.
Centre County Judge Pamela Ruest discussed the legal advancements made in attempts to protect pets in domestic violence situations.
“We’ve made a lot of progress, but it’s clearly not enough,” said Ruest. “We must continue our struggle and fight domestic violence with everything we can. But we still need more mechanisms in place to protect the innocent and those that can’t protect themselves.”
In the past two months, Centre County juries have convicted two men, in separate trials, of murder in the course of a domestic violence situation. Stacy Parks Miller, Centre County’s district attorney, opened her speech by talking of the two cases.
Alois Kudlach, 50, was convicted on Aug. 20 of first-degree murder. According to police, Kudlach shot his wife, Nuria, three times in their College Township home in August 2015.
Vladimir Podnebennyy, 64, was convicted of first- and third-degree murder on Sept. 27. Police said Podnebennyy lured his estranged wife, Natalya Podnebennyy, to his College Township home after he said he had car trouble. There, he stabbed her in the chest twice.
Both men are serving life prison sentences.
“The time when someone leaves someone can be the most dangerous time, and these two cases were unfortunate examples of that,” Parks Miller said. “These men just couldn’t take no for an answer.”
Parks Miller said acts of domestic violence such as this are directly linked to animal abuse.
“It’s real and unmistakable,” she said. “One of the earliest and most powerful predictors is through the abuse of animals. People do it to demonstrate power and control over the victims. They want to prevent them from leaving, so they use an innocent animal to gain that control.
“If you see animal abuse happening, anything at all, you must report it,” she continued. “It’s hard to tell what is going on behind closed doors.”
Parks Miller introduced two special canines that participated in the rally: “Princess,” more commonly known as “The Courthouse Dog” and handled by Centre County Victim Advocate Faith Schindler; and “Rudy,” a Penn State police canine handled by Police K-9 Officer Dustin Miller.
Jen Spence, a team member from Centre County Pet Recovery, talked briefly about the effects of another type of abuse, this in the mold of chaining dogs to outside dog boxes without the proper care. She said her organization created a slogan to help combat this domestic problem.
“Your grandfather did it. Your father did it,” she said. “Isn’t it time to break the chains.”
Following the presentations, Dawn McKee, STOP grant coordinator with the CCWRC, unveiled a hand-made quilt by Centre Hill, Clearfield County, resident Mary Jane Hollis. Hollis’ daughter was a murder victim in a domestic violence incident. The quilt will be raffled off at the Third Annual Break the Silence about Domestic Violence Event, scheduled for Oct. 15 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Chester Hill Borough Building, 920 Walton St., Philipsburg.
