In Portland, Oregon, Navy veteran Tony James had been living out of his car with his dog and a 250-pound potbellied pig.
Of course, James never thought he would be homeless and living in his car, but a string of unfortunate situations and a serious health condition left him unable to work and pay his rent. This past June, his appendix ruptured, and one month after that, his partner of 13 years died from a heart attack. James could no longer work as a sheet metal fabricator. His world had literally fallen apart, and he had to make sure his dog, Elvis and the couple’s pet pig, Roscoe were safe.
And so the three of them lived in the cramped hatchback and relied on the generosity and kindness of strangers for food.
On Monday, first responders from the Portland Fire & Rescue Community Health Assessment Team spotted the three and offered to help. By the next day, travel arrangements had been procured for James and Elvis to reunite with his father in Chicago. A home was located at the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary in Scio, Oregon for Roscoe where he would be safe.
James is extremely grateful for the help, and admitted living in his car had been extremely difficult. He walked both of his pets on a regular basis, but had to take them out at night because Roscoe drew a lot of attention that tied him up in long conversations. For months, the three lived in a sort of limbo; that is until the CHAT spotted them and offered to help.
The animal sanctuary has promised to keep in contact with James about his friendly pig and how he’s doing at the sanctuary. (From the photo above, taken at the sanctuary, Roscoe certainly looks content.)
Now James will be working on rebuilding his life, and he hopes his story about homelessness, and the awesome people who stepped up to help will resonate to help others in similar situations.
Sometimes tragedy happens in the blink of an eye, and having people and organizations like CHAT can make all the difference in the world.
“Portland Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Corey Wilson and his team on a Community Health Assess and Treat (CHAT). CHAT is a novel arm of Portland’s first responders who arrive at scenes specifically to help people in medical emergencies, including to offer buprenorphine and Narcan in the aftermath of drug overdoses. It also connects patients to longer term care and housing. When new approaches to public safety like this compliment our existing systems, everyone wins. Special thanks to Portland Fire Chief Lauren Johnson and everyone involved at the Portland fire and police departments.”
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I believe people should be treated the same way They treat their animals and I don’t have a problem throwing that woman over an eight foot fence onto hard gravel rocks and thorny stickers …