LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Hundreds of people are staying each night at the Homeless Resource Courtyard in downtown Las Vegas, some of them, bringing pets along with them.
Mary Shepleck is one of those residents. She’s been staying at the Courtyard since Fall 2022, and brought her two pups, Ohso and Twinkie, with her.
“It’s dangerous on the streets no matter what city you’re in. It’s dangerous for them, just the traffic alone, they could run out in the streets and be killed,” Shepleck says, explaining the dangers they could face if they weren’t at the Courtyard.
She, like many other pet owners at the Courtyard, spends a lot of her day visiting her pups at the kennels.
The kennels are open 24/7 to residents, on a first-come, first-served basis.
“This is a safe haven for them, that will keep them alive,” she says. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to get out of here very soon.”
As temperatures rise, she says she worries about their safety. She can head into the A/C to cool down, but the pet kennels are outdoors.
Thankfully, misters, coolers, and a shade structure are on the way.
“Because of the heat, we have had to fast-forward,” CEO of the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas Life, Sallie Doebler, says. “When it gets to 110 degrees, we can’t wait for fundraising efforts.”
Doebler says veterinary and grooming services, and other supplies like paw wax and booties, are close behind.
The goal is to keep pets in the kennels safe and comfortable, so their owners feel comfortable staying and using the Courtyard’s resources.
“We don’t want someone to give up the pet that has been there with them for the entire experience so they can receive services,” the Community Resource Manager over the City of Las Vegas’s Homelessness Initiatives, Maurice Cloutier, says.
To learn more about the Mayor’s Fund for Las Vegas Life’s plans for the pets at the Courtyard, click here.
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