The Link: Animal Abuse and
Violence
How do we know there is a
connection? Is there help for
children who are abusive towards
animals? How can victims of
domestic violence escape abuse
and save their pets too?

Alison Gianotto

Alison Gianotto is the director and founder of Pet-Abuse.Com, a California-based organization that tracks animal cruelty cases and animal abusers. Pet-Abuse.Com provides animal advocates with a suite of tools, including a national listing of upcoming court dates, and the ability to be notified by e-mail when updates to cases are posted. Humane societies and rescues across the country use the animal abuser search on Pet-Abuse.Com to screen potential adopters for a history of animal cruelty.

After an unfulfilling career on Wall Street, Alison moved into the technology field, where she worked as a web developer and taught graphic design and computer programming for Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York. She later moved to Southern California to take on the role of technical director at a leading web development firm. She has co-authored two technology books on application design and database solutions.

When the tragedy of animal cruelty struck close to home, she refocused her efforts toward animal cruelty prevention and prosecution, and educating the public about the connection between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence. Alison was involved with the production of "Prosecuting Animal Cruelty and Illegal Animal Fighting," a video training film aimed at teaching law enforcement how to effectively investigate and document animal cruelty crimes.