Over 1.56 million Americans are homeless at this very moment.
Typically, we think of people living in the streets when we hear the word homeless, but the circumstances for each homeless person can vary drastically.
Some homeless people stand on the streets and ask strangers for money. But one homeless man that recently made headlines wasn’t asking for money.
This man just wanted some help for his chihuahua, Amy.
Hand in Paw founder Piper Wood got a phone call a few weeks ago that upset her.
A friend called and said that she’d met a man named Hector outside of her grocery store. Hector came up to her, not because he wanted any money. He just needed a proper dog license for his chihuahua, Amy.
Piper rushed to her friend to meet Hector and after meeting him, Piper posted a call to action on the Hand in Paw Instagram page. She shared a photo of Hector and said:
His name is Hector, and he is homeless. He lives out of a shopping cart, and sleeps behind the Target, in Duarte. His dog, Amy, is his life. I mean….his entire life revolves around her. And while he has nothing except the clothes on his back, he makes sure she is warm, fed, and always dressed to impress! She even has on pearls and her nails are painted. She is more well-cared for than many dogs that have a physical home. Amy absolutely adores Hector, and constantly showers him with kisses.
Piper is the founder of the non-profit Hand in Paw, a Los Angeles-based group that dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and adoption of homeless, neglected and abused animals.
She continued her heartfelt Instagram post, as she needed to explain the predicament that Hector was in:
Now, here’s where Hector has a problem: the police keep threatening to take Amy away from him. Not because she is being neglected or anything like that, but because she isn’t licensed! Hector attempted to get her a license, but they won’t issue one, because he doesn’t have an address. **He is crying while trying to tell this story, saying that they took her away once before, and that he cannot live without her** Here’s what we would like to do for him. I would like to raise money to get Amy vetted (spayed, vaccinated, chipped, dental, etc.), get Hector some high quality food for her, get Amy a legit cart to travel in, instead of a shopping cart. And, I will be speaking with the police in that area to come to a solution for her licensing
Piper ended the post, asking for donations for Hector and Amy. The post went up on February 10, 2018, and just a few short days later, they’d collected enough money to help Hector out.
She was able to update her followers on what they were able to do for Hector. Not only were they able to get Amy’s license, they even got her a stroller!
When I posted about Hector and Amy, I was beyond blown away by the response from everyone. Your kindness, generosity, and compassion is nothing short of amazing and inspiring. Because of you, we were able to raise enough money to get Amy fully vetted, and supply Hector with whatever he needs for her, including this beautiful stroller.
Piper spoke with The Dodo about Hector and explained that Hector is such a kind and sweet person.
She believes he might have had a stroke previously, based on his speech, but even though he is hard to understand, Piper has said that it is obvious how much Hector loves Amy.
“But he’s usually talking about his dog, and his dog makes him so happy that he cries most of the time because he’s so happy. He’s a really kind, kind person.”
Don’t Hector and Amy just melt your heart? We’re so happy to see them so happy together!
If you’d like to see more dogs in need in the Los Angeles area, you can follow Hand in Paw on Instagram.
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