News

Jun 01, 2023

Unhoused residents of Colorado Springs say pets keep them grounded

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Marc Trujillo didn’t want a dog. Living out of his

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Marc Trujillo didn't want a dog.

Living out of his car, bouncing towns when life felt unlivable and sleeping outside through Colorado winters hardly felt like an environment conducive to keeping a pet.

In 2021, Trujillo stopped in Montrose on a road trip from Utah back to Colorado Springs. He pulled into a Walmart parking lot, picked a piece of cardboard out of a nearby dumpster and scribbled "please help," onto the cardboard sign. On his palm, he wrote, "spare change."

Another woman who he presumed to be homeless and asking for money approached him with a sign. He thought little of it, then realized the sign read "free puppy." Though Trujillo was skeptical of the Pitbull-Great Pyrenees mix because having a dog under his circumstances seemed daunting the two bonded immediately, making it impossible for Trujillo to say no to the woman giving him away.

Two years later, Trujillo said he can't imagine life without Milo, who he sees as his guard dog, best friend and child. Milo is hardly the aggressive Pitbull the breed has earned a reputation for. He lies at Trujillo's feet, mostly with his eyes shut. He militantly listens to Trujillo's commands and hardly interacts with others unless they approach first.

"I don't look at him as a pet," Trujillo said. "He's my child, pretty much. He watches over me like I do him."