Encampment dogs are not 'just a cute face'

Dana Williams and Harley — his tan and white pitbull and Jack Russel terrier mix — come down the hill to meet Cat Armbrust of the CoMo Mobile Aid Collective and Melody Whitworth of Unchained Melodies.

Both Harley and Williams greet the ladies and receive some food and water. For Harley, a 4-month-old puppy with loads of energy, Whitworth provides dewormer and flea and tick medication. He shies away from her touch as she begins to apply the flea and tick serum to the back of his neck.

Whitworth's organization, Unchained Melodies, rescues and rehabilitates dogs to find them a loving home. She also connects unhoused pet owners with veterinary care as part of her collaboration with the aid collective, which connects Columbia's unhoused community to resources. 

Whitworth’s responsibilities today include providing medication and arranging for pets to get spayed and neutered. To provide these services, she said there is a lot of trust that needs to be established between her and the owners. The unconditional love pets provide makes it hard for owners to trust others with their pets. The partnership with CoMo Mobile Aid often bridges that gap.

“Their biggest fear is that we’ll take their animals,” Whitworth says.

Harley leaps toward Williams, an effort to protect himself from the peanut butter-flavored dewormer in Whitworth’s hand. Williams crouches down beside Harley to give him the reassuring pat he needs.

“He really wants to help in every thing we do, and it’s important for us to have that support,” Williams says as he sits behind Harley, who turns to shower him in kisses.

“See, just like knowing that right there, means the world to me.”

Harley found Williams at the right time. Just a few days before he got Harley, Williams’ all-black cat was hit by a car. Williams and his girlfriend did not know if the cat followed them across the freeway or if she followed someone else. Either way, she had to be buried near the encampment she called home.

“She’d always wait. When we came back, she would be around,” he said. “And then one day, she didn’t come back.”

Williams said this accident caused a great deal of pain for the couple, and they still cry over the cat every day.

When the couple first got Harley, he was named Kilo. He came from an abusive home before he landed in Williams’ arms.

Williams said that as much as Harley helps his mental health, he also helps Harley grow and shed some of his fears and traumas. Since he got Harley, the pair has spent hours together, playing catch and training. A new command that Harley has struggled with as a puppy with tons of energy is “OFF.”

“I’ve been working with him every day, so it gives me something to do, like a purpose," Williams said. “When we get homeless we lose our routine, and a lot of people can get to where it affects their mental (health). You see that in a lot of people out here.”

Williams is not the only one that smiles more because of Harley. When the couple holds signs for cash, having Harley around makes the experience more positive.

“Out there flying a sign, you get a lot of negativity,” Williams said. “Doing that some days can be really draining. It’s like as long as you got (Harley), people seem to smile more because he’s just a cute face.”

At a nearby encampment, a brown brindle-coated mastiff mix named Peanut sniffs Shawn Dixon awake. Peanut grew up in the encampment and even had a puppy named Didi, whom Whitworth whisked away to get vaccinations. With the puppy off with Whitworth, Peanut has a bit of a break and some one-on-one time with Dixon. 

Whitworth said that the bond that people experiencing homelessness share with their pets is a strong and unbreakable one. She said there is a stigma about unhoused people with pets, and that with a little education, people would understand the significance that pets have in the betterment of their owners’ lives.

“The more we can make people understand, the more compassionate they will be,” Whitworth said.

Gretchen Carlisle is a research scientist for the Research Center for Human Animal Interaction through the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. She studies the effects of having pets — especially for people who deal with a lot of stress. She said that companion animals are often considered members of the family. In fact, one California study emphasized the importance of pets to unhoused communities.

“They did find that homeless individuals were very likely to report the benefits of increase and improvement in their mental health and, and feeling more calm,” she said. “And when they compared individuals who are homeless to housed individuals, both were equally as likely to be unwilling to alter their housing situation or to make a housing decision, if it didn’t positively impact their pet.”

Peanut sports a friendship bracelet on one of her paws as she trots through the encampment, wagging her tail at all the campers. She is well-tempered as she guides Armbrust through the leafless trees.

Dixon says Peanut has made the encampment truly their home. He sits cross-legged with Peanut on his lap and his arms around her as he sways back and forth, cooing and soothing Peanut until her eyes close.

“We wouldn’t have survived out here alone,” Dixon said. “This is home.”