Forced to choose between shelter and their dog, SLO County couple moved into car

Yahoo

13-04-2025

Hazel Bliss was never a dog person.
But in 2019, a friend asked if she and her husband, Jason, could rescue a puppy. Their grandchildren, who they lived with at the time, wanted a dog, so they decided it could be the right time.
That's how Olaf, a scruffy white Yorkie mix, came into their life. Now, the Blisses can't imagine a world without him.
'He's not just a dog, he's my child,' Hazel Bliss said.
The Blisses lost their housing in 2023 and have struggled to find safe place to live where they and Olaf can stay together.
They were enrolled in ECHO's 90-day housing program, but Olaf is not a service animal, so he isn't allowed on the property.
That left them with a difficult decision: Separate from Olaf or live together in their car.
They chose the latter.
The Blisses' predicament isn't unique.
While San Luis Obispo County does not track exactly how many unhoused people have pets — it's not required by state or federal law — several service providers who spoke with The Tribune said it's a common a barrier for people seeking housing.
Hazel and Jason Bliss were living with Jason's father, but when his father died of cancer in 2019, they used all their remaining money for his funeral and the last month of rent.
They then moved in with their son, who is a wildland firefighter, for the next three years.
When their son needed to downsize in 2023, the Blisses turned to the ECHO Homeless Shelter in Paso Robles. They were able to get into the 90-day program — Olaf was able to stay with them — and they eventually found housing in a fifth-wheel trailer in June 2024.
After two months, however, their landlord decided to sell the fifth-wheel, and they spent three months living in their car before they decided to return to ECHO in hopes of finding a stable place to stay for Hazel to heal from an upcoming surgery.
Olaf was again allowed in ECHO, the Blisses said, but an employee reported their dog for barking when a flashlight was shined in their room three weeks later.
The Blisses told The Tribune they didn't know Olaf had to be a service dog to be at ECHO but said that Olaf was always well-behaved and that several employees loved the dog. They said ECHO told them Olaf's barking was aggressive and because Olaf wasn't a service animal, the Blisses could stay but that Olaf was no longer allowed on the property.
'They're asking us to give up our child for a roof over our head,' Jason said.
Hazel and Jason had Olaf stay with a friend while they stayed at ECHO trying to get back on their feet.
During that time, Hazel said she would just lie in her bed looking at photos of Olaf and cry. She and her husband were too depressed to clean their room.
'We gave up our dog for that much time, and it was hardest thing we ever had to do,' Jason said.
After two weeks, their friend was going out of town and couldn't take care of Olaf. The Blisses tried to appeal ECHO's decision on their dog, to no avail.
Out of options, they had to make a choice.
So they moved into their red, four-door Ford Fiesta.
While ECHO could not talk about the Blisses' case specifically, director of development and operations Austin Solheim told The Tribune that people can always access ECHO services even if their dog is not allowed on the property.
He added that when intaking a family, ECHO is limited on what questions it can ask about service animals, due to state law.
If a person does disclose that their pet is not a service animal, Solheim said, ECHO does its best to work with the client to keep them in their program and find safe shelter for the pet. They encourage most people to have a friend or family member take in the animal, he said.
Solheim said he also encourages clients to connect with Vintage Tortoise Rescue, which can help find fosters and veterinary care for animals not allowed at ECHO, or Woods Humane Society, which can take pets if the person decides to surrender their animal for adoption.
The only other reason a service animal may be asked to leave the property would be if it showed aggressive behavior toward people or animals, Solheim said.
Solheim said that ECHO's pet policy is service-animal-only because of the facility's capacity and the need to ensure the safety of other clients. He also said that lot of their policies are governed by insurance costs, which are a lot higher for pet-friendly shelters.
Janna Nichols, executive director of 5Cities Homeless Coalition, echoed this sentiment.
'If we did not have pets, we would have a significant break on our insurance,' she said, adding that shelters must look out for the health and safety of other clients in the event people have allergies to animals, especially in congregate living situations.
Nichols said the coalition's non-congregate shelters, Cabins for Change and Balay Co on Barca, have always been pet-friendly as long as the animal is licensed with the county and has proper vaccinations, including for rabies.
Both shelters offer 90-day programs to help people find stable housing.
Cabins for Change offers 20 100-square-foot cabins, while the Balay Co on Barca shelter has 30 64-square-foot bungalows. But the waitlist to get into either was 300 people long as of April 1, Nichols said.
In total, Nichols said, the coalition has had 38 pets use their services since December 2022.
The coalition's warming shelter, however, was not pet-friendly until 2024, when it secured a lease at 1023 East Grand Ave. in Arroyo Grande.
The warming shelter, which offers an overnight place to stay when the weather is below 38 degrees, previously would move between different facilities, including churches and government-owned buildings, which they did not have as much control over.
CAPSLO's 40 Prado shelter is also pet-friendly, CAPSLO homeless services direct Jack Lahey told The Tribune.
The shelter requires that all animals, whether they are service animals, emotional support animals or pets, be vaccinated for rabies, Lahey said.
He said staying with pets has been 'a historical barrier into services for people experiencing homelessness.'
'If you're on the street, sometimes your only companion is your dog or your cat,' he said.
The shelter has six kennels for animals, he said, and typically houses around two at any given time.
He said animals can be with owners outside the kennels as long as they are leashed and well-behaved, except in the sleeping area of the dorms, which only allows service and emotional support animals.
Suzie Freeman, spokesperson for San Luis Obispo County Homeless Services Division, told The Tribune the county is planning on making Welcome Home Village, a transitional housing project still in development in San Luis Obispo, pet-friendly.
'It was recognizing that asking someone to separate from their animal is a barrier to housing for some folks, so allowing them to bring their pet along with them on their housing journey is just another way that we can be more welcoming to everyone that needs a place to stay,' Freeman said.
C.A.R.E.4Paws works with both 5 Cities Homeless Coalition and CAPSLO to help pet owners get their animal's vaccines up-to-date for free or at a low cost.
Executive director Isabelle Gullo told The Tribune the organization has been putting on low-cost vaccination and spay-neuter clinics in San Luis Obispo County since 2022, mostly in the Nipomo and Grover Beach areas, though it has recently expanded to offering clinics in the North County this year, holding its first one in Paso Robles on March 16.
The organization can also provide medical exams, nail trims, flea and dewormer treatments, and microchips, Gullo said, as well as connect pet owners to low-cost partners if the animal needs more intensive care.
C.A.R.E.4Paws has partnered with both 5Cities Homeless Coalition and CAPSLO to help people get their animal's vaccinations up to date so that they can stay in the shelter.
Woods Humane Society also provides free and low-cost vaccine, microchip and spay-neuter clinics, CEO Emily L'Heureux told The Tribune.
In addition to the clinics, Woods also has a 'Pet Pantry' where it collects pet food and supplies to give to those in need. It partners with Lumina Alliance, CAPSLO, ECHO and local church food pantries for distribution.
San Luis Obispo County Animal Services manager Eric Anderson told The Tribune the county is considering creating a program to waive or reduce license fees for low-income residents.
As of April 10, dog licenses cost between $32 and $193 depending on whether the animal is spayed or neutered, its age and whether it received the one-year rabies vaccine or the three-year rabies vaccine.
The Blisses, who've been married for 25 years, hoped to have some kind of stable housing before Hazel's surgery on April 11, but they have struggled to find a place where the three of them could stay.
They are squeezing into their son's apartment for the week immediately after the surgery but then they will be back in their car, Jason said. Hazel's surgery requires at least three weeks of recovery, she said.
Jason has been trying to find work and housing as he takes care of his wife.
It's been stressful, he said.
They rarely have enough gas money to drive to San Luis Obispo or the South County, where the pet-friendly shelters are.
'We have no resources to go down there,' he said. 'We want to find a place for her to be able to recover with me, my dog and her and then just try to get back on our feet.'
In the meantime, Olaf has been the bright light keeping their spirits up during this stressful time, they said. The two weeks they spent in ECHO without him were worse than living in their car with him.
It's hard to be homeless, Jason said. He hadn't been homeless since he was a child and had worked hard to provide stable housing for himself and his family. It's felt like since they lost their housing in 2023, they've hit barrier after barrier, he said.
'I just want people that want help for themselves and their family to be able to get help for themselves,' Jason said. 'Everybody should have an opportunity if they're trying.'
He hopes he can find pet-friendly housing within the next week. If not, his wife will recover in their car.
'Olaf is a family member,' Jason said. 'We rescued him. He's rescued us.'
With a large breath and through tears, Hazel added: 'I don't know what I'd do without him.'