Client Stories

Lynette & eddie

Lynette and Eddie, a darling little fluff ball of a dog, have been clients of Street Dawg Crew of Utah for years. Little Eddie was well-known to our volunteers and a particular favorite of our director, Margie. Eddie arrived to our outreach each week in his stroller. We've had the honor of supplying Eddie with all the things a little guy needs: food, treats, winter gear, vaccinations, poop bags, and even a picture with Santa at Christmas time.

Eddie recently passed away. Momma Lynette is understandably devastated. Street Dawg Crew was able to help with final expenses.

Lynette showed up to our outreach with a donation for us in Eddie's behalf. Her kind coworkers at Wasatch Community Gardens and Green Phoenix Farm took up a collection in memory of Eddie. We are so touched. It's not often that people think of others during their time of grief. Thank you, Lynette and Eddie. We promise to use the donation wisely. Rest in peace Little Eddie and keep Momma Lynette safe.

Carter & Miko

My name is Carter Davis and my faithful canine friends name is Miko. She is a 16 year old blue nosed pit bull. Everybody who finds themselves in our position has a complicated story, and ours is no different. Many end in tragedy but it fills my heart full of joy to say that our path has progressed to the point of true happiness. It took me about twenty years of total irresponsibility and chronic drug use before I found myself homeless and without a dollar to my name. I went to prison three times for substance abuse and I lost my house in Heber City, UT along with the five acres that it was sitting on. I got a ride from my friend down to Salt Lake because I knew they had a shelter and it was winter and I needed it. I had him take me to an old friends house and drop me off. As I walked up to the house I could hear a dog crying in the back of the property, it was Miko. It turned out that my friend's house had been foreclosed on and they were all staying in a motel. They had lots of other small dogs and had no place for Meeks. They informed me that she had lived a long life and they were going to have to put her down. I disagreed!!! I felt she had many more years in her and it was not her time to go. Also, I needed her as I had the thoughts of giving up on life. We needed each other!!!

From that day forth we were inseparable. I heard about an organization from another homeless man that would meet at Pioneer Park every Sunday at noon. He informed me that they could help with dog food and dog supplies like coats and harnesses. That's when we met the Street Dawg Crew!!! I can tell you honestly we would not be sitting where we are today without their help. Miko was even on the brink of death one day and they took her to the animal hospital and paid for all her medication, saving her life. After about three years on the streets I got a call from a dear friend informing me he had a job for me and a place where me and Miko could stay until I got back on my feet. I was ready for the opportunity.

Today I am proud to say that I have a great job making $19 an hour and I have repaired my bad credit. I even have a couple credit cards. I have enough to be able to get Meeks anything she wants. She is almost 16 and a half years old now and still going strong!! We could not have done it without Street Dawg Crew!!!

Jim & Dottie

We have been helping out a gentleman named Jim, and his sweet border collie, Dottie. Jim first spotted Dottie tied to a gate in a neighbor's front yard in West Valley, with little space to move. After a month went by, and feeling sorry for the dog, Jim decided to approach his neighbor about the situation, hoping his neighbor would relinquish the dog to him. "He said the dog was 'dumb and ugly' and that I could take her," Jim said, "So I did." Dottie was probably about 1-2 years old at the time she became part of Jim’s life.

Jim's brother invited him to move Rock Springs, WY to work in his brother's restaurant, so Jim, his wife, and Dottie took a chance and moved there. Unfortunately, when the economy turned south in Rock Springs, the restaurant suffered as well, and Jim found himself without a job. Pursuing a job lead, the family headed to San Francisco, but after a week, the family decided it wasn't for them. So they recently headed back to Salt Lake City, hoping they could start again fresh here.

At the moment, Jim, his wife, and Dottie are experiencing homelessness and live in a park in Salt Lake City. But good news! Jim recently accepted a job offer at a restaurant and is trying to save money to move into an apartment when the time is right. In the meantime, we assist by providing Dottie with nutritious food, treats, toys, and other pet supplies.

When I asked Jim about what Dottie means to him, he said, "Everything." He said Dottie shows unconditional love and encourages the family to move forward. Dottie once spotted someone from a distance who was crying in the streets, and dragged Jim over so that Dottie could sit with her. Dottie faced this crying woman and nudged her to start petting. After a while, the woman started petting and stopped crying, and the pair moved on.

Dottie is now about 9 years old, and has been with Jim through thick and thin. We met Dottie and Jim through the Street Dawg Crew, and see them on a regular basis. Dottie likes the wet dog food we provide, and she absolutely loves to play fetch with us, just like your typical border collie. We spend a good amount of time playing and loving on Dottie when we see her! In fact, it’s fair to say that we probably get as much out of our interaction as Jim and Dottie. We've also outfitted Dottie with a sturdy purple harness that provides Jim freedom and peace of mind.

rob & katie

Sometimes, finding a lost pet takes a village. That was certainly the case when Street Dawg Crew client Rob became separated from his heeler Katie in the Tanner Park area of Salt Lake City. According to Rob, his best friend was close-by one minute and gone the next. Katie is not a dog prone to running off or ignoring the ‘come’ command. It was as if she had evaporated. Rob searched the area--and every other place he could think of that she might have gone--for hours, without any success. Eventually, he called a phone number he’d just been given two weeks earlier. That number belonged to Ann Davis, a volunteer and board member for Street Dawg Crew. Ann, Rob and Katie had first met in January in the Sugarhouse neighborhood, and had been connecting every 2-3 weeks since then, so SDC could keep Katie supplied with food, treats and toys. On one of their visits, Katie was given a distinctive red harness, which she was wearing when she disappeared.

Rob had never used Ann’s phone number before, but when he wasn’t able to find Katie on his own he dialed it and left a message: “Katie is lost. Can you help me find her.” Unfortunately, the message had no phone number associated with it. Not wanting to let Rob and Katie down, Ann hit the bricks, literally and figuratively, checking all the places she had ever seen Rob and Katie, asking others in the homeless community to put the word out that Rob needed to call her again. Eventually, word got to Rob. He borrowed a phone to get back in touch with Ann. She picked him up, and for the next 3 hours, they searched together in the pouring rain for Katie, again to no avail. When darkness set in, they arranged to connect the next morning to post flyers and continue the search. Rob opted to spend the night at Tanner Park, in the place he had last seen Katie. What neither of them knew, was that Katie was safe and warm several blocks away in the Canyon Rim home of John and Marie Jensen, and that social media posts were already bringing Rob and Katie closer.

Although SDC had posted a plea for help on Facebook, it was Marie Jensen’s post to Utah Lost and Found Pets, that ‘broke the case.’ That post, with a picture of Katie in her distinctive red harness and the query, “Does anyone know who this little girl belongs to?” came to the attention of SDC VP Kimo Pokini, who contacted Ann. But there was still an obstacle: Rob had been chased out of his intended campsite at Tanner Park the night before and had to be located again. After a rather lengthy search, Ann spotted Rob on the bike path along the freeway between Tanner Park and Sugarhouse Park and was able to intercept him with the good news and transport to the Jensen’s to pick up Katie.

When the Jensens brought Katie out of their home for the reunion between Katie and her ‘Dad’, everyone was expecting “joy unconfined,” but were surprised when Katie barked at Rob as if he were a stranger and turned her back on him. (What?!) She was quite clearly scolding him and saying, “Don’t ever leave me like that again.” But she followed that up by planting her front paws on Rob’s chest, licking his face and crawling into his lap. (See the pic.)

The reunion was bittersweet. In the short time Katie was with the Jensens, they had fallen in love with her. Had they not found Katie’s family, they would have happily kept her. In fact, they had already decided on a name, so Katie now has adopted a middle name—Jellybean. The Jensens described seeing Katie lying on the front steps of the house across the street and thinking, “Something’s not right”. The distinctive red harness, screamed “I belong to someone,” so the Jensens, who are self-professed “animal people,” put a leash on Katie and asked her to show them where “home” was. Of course, they had no way of knowing that Katie’s home was not a fixed location.

When asked to find “home” Katie immediately led the Jensens to the last place she had seen Rob, then headed down the bike path they often travelled together. But when the path crossed a street, Katie became nervous and seemed confused, so the Jensens returned to their home, where they pampered Katie with pizza and a cozy spot between them. She seemed to fit right in, so before Rob was allowed to take Katie away, the Jensen’s made him promise to bring her back for visits. They even asked him to put their names and contact information on a microchip registration. They are now official ‘ fairy dogparents.’

Ann, Rob and Katie made two more stops together—one to the Canyon Rim Petsmart for a tag that included a Street Dog Crew phone number (just in case), and one to Wendy’s, where Katie got two hamburgers of her own (hold the bun and condiments).

michael & lucky

We met Michael and his orange tabby, Lucky several years ago, and even back then, they were very visible in the homeless community. Everyone seemed to know about Lucky the Cat. “I’ve had Lucky six years, since he was a kitten,” said Michael. “There were these two construction workers taking bets on a pair of kittens that were in the road, which one was going to get killed first. I yelled at them, because they’re God’s creatures, you know? Then Lucky’s sister got squished, and Lucky got hit and I thought he was dead and I was walking away, but then I hear this ‘mew! mew!’ and I go back and he’s alive, but his eye got knocked out! He was so small he fit in my shirt pocket. But he stayed with me—his safe space is up on my shoulders.”

Michael is frank about Lucky’s influence on his mental health. “He keeps me stable. He’s my service cat. Where he goes, I go, and he keeps me motivated.” Michael can’t go everywhere with Lucky, unfortunately—including the homeless shelters during the winter months. “They will sometimes let dogs, but they won’t let cats,” he tells me, “so we slept out all last winter.”

UPDATE: Michael and Lucky were able to qualify for housing and are now living in their own apartment. We still get to see them from time to time and are happy they are finally under a roof they can call home.