Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/mexico-homeless-woman-refuses-to-go-to-shelter-six-dogs/
Most people would choose having a place to live over being on the streets. Being homeless is incredibly difficult and shelters are in place to help those who are struggling. But one 65-year-old woman in Mexico is choosing to live on the streets and refuses to go to a shelter. Her reasoning? She doesn’t want to leave her six dogs behind.
Luz Maria Olmedo Beltran, or Chole for short, lives in a plastic trash bag in Tijuana with her six dogs. She’s been living on the streets for the past eight years. Though shelters are available to her, they won’t take in her dogs and she refuses to leave them.
Omar Camarillo, a local photographer, happened to capture photos of Chole hiding from the rain in her trash bag house – along with all of her dogs. He shared photos of the moment on his Facebook, noting that Chole was being pressured by police to move to a shelter. She feared being arrested and losing her pups.
According to Bored Panda, the police finally convinced Chole to find a shelter for the night. So, she gathered her dogs and trash bag up and allegedly went to stay with her son.
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However, the next day she was back on the streets.
After Omar shared the photos and drew attention to Chole’s situation, a young animal-lover named Alejandra Cordova Castro decided to offer the woman some help.
Castro brought Chole blankets, socks, food, and water. One of Chole’s dogs was moments away from giving birth and Castro knew that someone needed to help in any way possible. She shared what she did on Facebook, asking others to help out if they can.
Alejandra shared in her post that Chole “said thank you so many times that she made me cry.”
While rumors spread that Chole is now paying to stay in a poor shelter that allows her dogs, Alejandra said she’s still on the streets and she “don’t want to move.” Hopefully she’s able to find a more permanent housing situation for her and her dogs!
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
