Homelessness, Man’s Best Friend and a Hard Choice

[undeterred]

Tony Aponte refers to his 45-pound pit bull, Rocky, as his child. But after losing his apartment and moving into a homeless shelter, he was at a loss over how to care for him. “It was heartbreaking,” Mr. Aponte said. “I felt like garbage because I couldn’t take care of a family member.”

Mr. Aponte, 48, lost his construction job in May of last year. When his landlord suddenly needed to take back the apartment in November, Mr. Aponte and his partner, Jenny Jimenez, did not have the time or the money to find a new apartment. While they ended up at a shelter in the Bronx in November, pets were not allowed. So Mr. Aponte made a makeshift bed out of cushions and blankets for Rocky in his white van, where the dog slept for the first week.

“I tried to park it in front of the shelter so I could go out and check on him,” he said. “I needed a place for Rock.” Mr. Aponte approached his brother for help, but he turned him away. Other friends, and even his mother, who lives in Florida, suggested putting Rocky to sleep. “What are your priorities?” she asked.

“I was, like, why? What is wrong with the dog? He’s not sick,” Mr. Aponte said. Mr. Aponte and his partner saw a television segment about Pets for Life, a rescue program run by the Humane Society, which provides pet owners access to low-cost veterinary care, food, blankets and foster care.

Jenny Olsen, an organizer for the program, answered Mr. Aponte’s call, providing extra blankets and donating coats to keep Rocky warm while she arranged temporary housing for him. The “foster father” she found, Amit Chaabra, is one of about 75 volunteer “parents” for the program. Mr. Chaabra took in the pit bull in his Midtown penthouse apartment and granted Mr. Aponte visiting rights during the almost eight months they lived apart.

Each year, more than 40,000 animals enter Animal Care & Control of NYC, said Patrick Kwan, the New York State director for the Humane Society.

“In almost all cases, it is cheaper to help people keep their animals using the free or low-cost services rather than surrender them and allow the shelter to pay for an animal’s care until they are adopted, sent to rescue groups or euthanized,” he said.

The program also provides support and information to help people find homes for stray animals instead of surrendering them to the shelter system.

After turning down three apartments, the couple eventually found housing that allowed pets, a tidy one-bedroom apartment in the Norwood section of the Bronx. And when they brought home Rocky, they took in another pit bull, Boi Boi, who was also living with Mr. Chaabra. And they hope to take in more.

Mr. Aponte is taking work where he can get it, applying his carpentry skills to cabinetry work and roofing. Ms. Jimenez plans to return to school to improve her computer skills.

“The recession is so horrible,” he said about its effects on the construction business. “I was told when you own a building it’s like going to the doctor. If you don’t take care of something you see, you don’t know how bad it’s going to be in a year.” Still, he said, clients are reluctant to pay for repairs.

For now, though, the couple are grateful to be a family again.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/homelessness-mans-best-friend-and-a-hard-choice/?hp

Pets for Life: http://www.nycacc.org/safetynet.htm

[ThomCat]

1. That's sounds like a wonderful program.

:)

I'm very glad he was able to keep his dog and find a home that allows pets.

[T Wolf]

2. Just waiting for the anti-animal, anti-PETA crowd to chime in with, "It's only a dog."

To many of us, our non-human companions are family members as much as our human ones.

[dogsmycopilot]

14. PETA sucks ass.

Excuse me but do you realize most of us that are anti-peta are anti peta because peta kills pets? PETA does not want you or me Mr. Nice, homeless man above to have companion animals. Ingrid Newkirk, the head puppy murderer herself would gladly stop this program just as she stopped the lives of so many perfectly healthy pets that could have had homes. If your pet is truly your family as mine are then supporting PETA is the last thing you should be doing. They make no bones about their agenda. Support your local shelters and the no kill shelters and read up on PETA so you know the facts. I used to be pro PETA too until I read their own stuff, no rumors, no lies, just their very own statements and actions. Actions such as trying to keep rescue groups from taking animals from shelters to get them homes before they are killed. Especially in this case, as this was a pit. He'd have died at PETA's hand.

[undeterred]

3. I know someone who is living in her truck with 2 dogs.

Doubtless life would be easier for her in a shelter, but they don't allow pets. A foster home is the perfect situation if you're going through this.

[bobbolink]

8. No, life is NOT easier in a shelter.

[Jeep789]

4. Too bad this program isn't available nationally. nt

[undeterred]

5. There may be others.

I saw a posting on craigslist in my area from someone who was volunteering to organize this.

[andycox]

6. homelessness

Am I right in thinking there's something like 19 million empty dwellings in the US? If so, why homelessness? Rhetorical question: The answer's capitalism.
Andy
http://andycox1953.webs.com/

[undeterred]

7. Welcome to DU, Andy

It seems like a common sense answer, but common sense doesn't get implemented very often. I think this is going to be a very hard winter for a lot of people, with shelters full to the brink.

[bobbolink]

9. Why homelessness? Simply, because we as a nation allow it and ignore it.

And that is it in a nutshell.

People simply don't care to eradicate homelessness, and that includes "progressives".

A bit of charity, and they're done.

[Naturyl]

10. Yep, exactly.

People do NOT want to hear what you just said, but it is 100% true. Poverty and homelessness in this country are very much *solvable* problems. Easily solvable in comparison to some others, in fact. Americans just don't want to solve them. There's too much "bootstraps" blood running through the American veins - even in Democrats. The will to fix poverty and homeless don't exist because we as a nation (in BOTH parties) are convinced that poverty is an individual's own responsibility rather than a collective one.

[Virgil Cain]

13. I ask this in all honesty..

Why do you believe it isn't an individual responsibility? I understand in some cases it's clear that we need to take care of some people... those with disabilities, those with SEVERE mental health problems, etc. But an able-bodied person? It seems to me that that's where the brunt of responsibility for an individuals situation in life should fall.

[dogsmycopilot]

15. That's a false view.

That's a false and overly simplified view of the matter. It is not always up to the person at all. Read a book like Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, read any of America's class history, you will see that there are lots of factors other than personal effort that go into things. I'm not saying we should be supporting willful laziness but I am saying most people who are homeless or down and out are not at all lazy.

[Yurovsky]

11. Whole subdivisons lie vacant...

products of overbuilding and speculation. Meanwhile, the homeless sit, cold or in the rain, while dry homes sit vacant, actually losing value as they deteriorate.

Insanity....

[Virgil Cain]

12. I hear your sentiment, but...

you can't expect a landlord to let someone live in their apartment for free. Can you imagine the problems this would cause? A house or apartment incurs greater wear and tear the more it is used, much like a vehicle. Part of rent goes to cover these costs. I understand that an empty dwelling isn't generating rent as it is, but it's at least incurring minimal cost. Then there's the matter of insurance. Would the landlord still be required by law to maintain the apartment? Change the carpets, fix the heater if it blows, all with no rent coming in? I'm sure all the neighbors would be pleased with what this would do to the property values. Now maybe if as an offset the landlord received a fee from the gov't, but they'd have to get the money from somewhere.

[dogsmycopilot]

16. Do something to help.

Any of you that actually give a damn and want to do more than chat about such misfortune can get with any local shelter or rescue organization and foster animals. You help the one you foster and the one that takes that spot at the shelter, in effect saving two dogs. You can also contact your local shelter and take them supplies they may need ranging from paper towels to puppy toys or you can even volunteer to spend some time with the animals. You'd be surprised how many of those dogs would love just a walk. It's easy to sit here and go "awwww" but to do something really helps a lot even if you only do a little.