PERRY: Doggedly determined to keep homeless people with their pets

You don’t have to tell Jes at the Humane Colorado animal shelter how homelessness creates a unique crisis most people never even think about.

Jes and the other 2,000 or so fellow employees and volunteers of what used to be the Dumb Friends League think about it all day. Every day.

Of the 26,000 dogs and cats surrendered each year at the Leslie A. Malone Center in Denver and the other four centers across the state, most of them are in the shelter because of problems linked to homelessness and home insecurity, she said.

Every day, two broken hearts part ways at the shelter as a man, a woman and even a family pet their dog for the last time.

Sometimes, the cost alone of feeding and caring for a dog or cat becomes overwhelming when there’s already not enough money for rent or a car payment.

Many people have no choice but to surrender a dog that’s forced to stay in a hot car all day while their owner is at work, because that’s where they both live. 

Owning a dog or cat requires a place that allows it to stay. Even people with generous friends or families have to make the excruciating choice of surrendering their best friend when the invitation hinges on couch surfing alone.

Mostly, shelter officials say, it comes down to desperate people deciding whether to keep their dog and a life on the streets or surrendering their pet as a condition to accept space in a homeless shelter.

Most shelters for homeless people don’t allow pets, or have very limited accommodations, Humane Colorado President Apryl Steele said Monday at a press conference called to draw attention to the problem — and a possible solution.

That gut-wrenching reality is what prompted Aurora Congressperson Jason Crow to introduce the 2025 PUPPS Act in the House.

“Pets are family. No one should be forced to choose between having a roof over their head and keeping their pet,” Crow told a gathering of advocates, shelter officials and volunteers at the Malone Center Monday. “That’s why I’m introducing a bipartisan bill to better support homeless shelters so that people don’t have to part ways with their beloved pet.”

The measure would provide grants to homeless shelters to provide accommodations for homeless people with pets. He’s joined in sponsoring the measure by representatives Brian Fitzpatrick, R-PA, Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, and Mike Lawler, R-NY.

In a statement, the prime sponsors explained why they believe the measure is so important.

“New York is facing a real housing affordability crisis,” Lawler said. “For folks experiencing homelessness, their pet may be their only source of comfort and stability. Yet too often, animal shelters can’t accommodate the influx. The PUPP Act helps local governments and nonprofits provide safe housing options without forcing people to choose between a roof over their head and the animal they love.”

It’s a choice that more than half-a-million homeless Americans make every day, deciding to live on the streets with their pets, according to Wellbeing International. A consensus of research points to about a quarter of Americans who are homeless, or facing homelessness, have a pet.

The excruciating dilemma became the inspiration for an entire Colorado project that seeks to find ways to keep bipeds and quadrupeds together as they struggle with homelessness.

Annie and Millie’s Place focuses on keeping owners and pets together as they work their way out of homelessness.

Annie had a “warm smile” and a “big heart,” according to program creators.

When she found out a couple was living in their car behind the gas station she worked at, she offered to let them stay with her and her dog Millie.

Annie’s family said she gave too much and too hard, sacrificing her own stability and eventually became homeless herself.

“But Annie was never alone,” program officials said. “Her dog, Millie, stayed by her side, providing protection, company, and unconditional love. Their connection, friendship, and mutually beneficial support system created a responsibility that gave Annie a purpose. Millie depended on Annie, and Annie on Millie.”

Life on the streets took its physical and mental toll on Annie.

She stayed in an abandoned house for a brief time, her family said. She was going to have to leave. Her only choice was to abandon Millie in order to stay in a shelter.

“She tied Millie to the front porch and took her own life inside,” Millie’s Place CEO Kristen Baltrum.

A friend stopped and found Millie “barking frantically” for help, according to Annie’s family. The dog was taken by local animal control.

Crow said that story and others inspired him to push Congress to find a way to keep people and pets together as they find their way to a life off the streets. 

For now, the choice is too often unavoidable, shelter officials say.

Humane Colorado and other programs offer food and even free or discounted veterinary care for homeless pet owners, but being able to share a place to live and sleep is critical.

The PUPP Act directs the Department of Agriculture to award grants for temporary and long-term homeless shelters to make changes allowing residents to keep their pets. The bill would set aside $5 million annually for grants, with the program lasting for four years.

“So many of us know how quickly our dogs become part of our families,” Petterson said. “The PUPP Act will help ensure emergency shelters don’t have to force that painful decision and instead allow people to stay with their pets.”

Crow said that although the bill has not only bipartisan support and that of 150 animal and homeless organizations, it needs a groundswell of support from the public.

“So tell all of your family, your cousins, your aunts and spread it all around the country,” Crow told the group. “If their member of Congress hasn’t sponsored this bill, keep on calling them and writing them until they do.”

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