Love For Pets
People love their pets. Whether the individual is wealthy and lives in a beautiful home or if they are living on the streets, people love their dogs. Dogs are great companions. They love their owners and enjoy spending time playing together and bonding. When a person is having a bad day, spending just a few minutes with their dog can make the stress and aggravation of the day melt away. Dogs need their owners just as much as their owners need their dogs.
DeKalb County Animal Services
DeKalb County Animal Services in Georgia is where lost dogs are taken when they are picked up on the streets. When dogs are brought there, they wait until their owners come to retrieve them. During this time, the staff takes care of the dogs, trying to keep them happy while they wait to be reunited with their owners.
Homeless Man
One morning, a kennel tech arrived for work at the DeKalb County Animals Services building. When she arrived, she saw that there was a homeless man curled up on the sidewalk, sleeping in front of the shelter’s doors. At first, the tech thought that the man had just chosen this place to lay his head down for the night. It wasn’t until she woke him that she discovered that he was there sleeping for a reason. This homeless man sleeps on
The Man’s Story
The man explained to the kennel tech that his best friend had gone missing. His best friend was a dog named Tata, and she had been with him for years. When she got lost one day, he had been searching for her. It had been two weeks since he had seen his dog. After looking for her everywhere, he decided to check the local shelter. He was hoping that someone had brought her in and she was waiting for him to pick her up. Because he was homeless and didn’t have a job, he had no money. He had to go out and collect money just to pay for the bus ride to the shelter. When he finally got there, they were closed. He decided to sleep right outside the door so that he could get in to find Tata as soon as they opened.
Bad News
When the man told the kennel tech his story, he was devastated when he found out that Tata wasn’t there. The tech saw the pain in his eyes, so she decided to do what she could to help. The shelter had another location on the other side of town, so the kennel tech decided to reach out to them to see if Tata was there. When she described the dog to the tech on the phone, she was elated to find out that they had a dog there that fit Tata’s description to a tee.
Another Issue
When the man found out that the other shelter had Tata, he was thrilled. The only problem was that he would need to take a train to get there to pick her up. He had worked all day to get enough money for the bus. It was going to take even longer for him to find enough money to take a train. The kennel tech saw the pain in the man’s eyes and asked what was wrong. When he explained his financial situation, she gave him the money to take the train so that he could be reunited with his best friend.
The Reunion
When the man got to the shelter, he was finally reunited with Tata. The joy that they both felt when they were finally together was evident to everyone in the room. Tata was jumping on the man and licking his face. The man hugged his best friend. The shelter decided to waive their normal fees for the man so that he could take Tata with him that day. They knew that it could take days and even weeks before he would be able to get the money necessary, so waiving the fee was best for Tata and her owner.
Offering Assistance
Not only did the shelter agree to waive the fees for the man, but they also offered their assistance if he needs it in the future. Recently, DeKalb County Animal Services launched an outreach program for homeless people to care for their pets. Just because a person has some bad luck and ends up homeless, it doesn’t mean that they should be separated from their pets who love them.
Help From the Community
According to the tech at DeKalb, the people in the community can help homeless people, and their pets stay together. Doing something as simple as donating food or flea medication can make a huge difference in these people’s lives. Also, donating money toward vet visits is a great way to help. Homeless people love their pets regardless of their living situation. They just need a little bit of help to get by when times are tough.
