By Susan Cohen, KQED News Fix
Rose could be anywhere from 10 to 12 years old. The stray Chihuahua showed up one day in Amanda Smulevitz’s Oakland neighborhood, and the woman eventually took the dog in. A few years later, Smulevitz adopted Lily, a soon-to-be-6-year-old of the same breed, saving her from a home where she had been mistreated.
A retired and disabled mother of a special-needs son, Smulevitz has lived in Oakland for almost 50 years. But she was forced to leave her pet-friendly apartment earlier this year, when the building’s new owner refused to give her a new lease. Though she qualifies for Section 8 housing, after months of searching, Smulevitz still has not found a place to live, let alone one that will accommodate her two dogs. For now, she and her son sleep on friends’ living room floors. Rose and Lily sleep with strangers.
Read the complete story at KQED News Fix.
