Shadow wasn’t just a dog he was the only thing that made the nights bearable
When the city cleared the encampment on Hazelton, they told everyone to “go to shelter.”
But the shelter didn’t allow pets.
They said Shadow was a “barrier to services.”
A barrier?
He was the reason I survived.
Shadow kept watch when I slept.
Shadow curled against me when the cold cut through the blankets.
Shadow barked when someone tried to unzip my tent at 3 a.m.
Shadow was the only living thing that didn’t treat me like a problem.
So, when they said, “You can come in, but the dog stays out,”
I stayed out too.
People think it’s a choice.
It’s not.
It’s loyalty the one thing homelessness hasn’t taken from me.
If there were a place that allowed pets, I’d go tomorrow.
But until then, Shadow and I stay together.
Because out here, he’s not my barrier.
He’s, my family.

Disclaimer

By the Street Sentinel