Robert Orr-Duncan has gotten his beloved service dogs back, but where he houses them is now a whole new problem.
The 35-year-old autistic man says he finally caught a break, albeit briefly, in a seemingly never-ending cycle of problems stemming from his ongoing battle to secure temporary housing, fight motel pet rules and a growing pet-boarding bill while the fate of his two support dogs has continued to hang in the balance.
The dogs stayed in a car with him during the day on Tuesday. He says he was unable to keep them anywhere else, because the motel prohibits pets in his room.
But Orr-Duncan then won a reprieve late in the day from motel management to have them in the room for the night. However, the 'no pets rule' kicks in again Wednesday afternoon and he will be forced to find them housing.
Regardless, Orr-Duncan told BarrieToday he's relieved to have them back in his care after a long ordeal.
“I’ve got my support now,” he said of his dogs.
Outside of his mother, who has been in hospital for surgery, “they are the only family I have,” Orr-Duncan added.
Orr-Duncan said he had not seen his dogs since Nov. 15.
He is currently living at the Barrie Motel, near Wellington and Anne streets, after being evicted from the Days Inn when the Hart Drive hotel ended its participation with the emergency shelter program.
The Salvation Army Barrie Bayside Mission had moved Orr-Duncan into the Barrie Motel on Dec. 1 as it scrambled to find accommodations for those who had been forced to find new living arrangements.
But despite having found a temporary place to live, Orr-Duncan says he was unable to bring his dogs with him.
The two West Highland terriers are used by both Orr-Duncan and his mother as therapy dogs. One of the dogs is trained to lay on his mother and monitors her heart and blood pressure. If the dog senses any irregularities, it will reach out and paw at them.
The dogs had been boarded, as they were also not allowed at the Days Inn after an ownership change at the beginning of November.
The dogs had been staying at an area animal hospital. They were released into his care after he said the facility agreed to defer the payment deadline until the end of January.
Meanwhile, his mother is due to be discharged from hospital and admitted to a rehabilitation facility after her recent foot surgery. Orr-Duncan said it’s only a 60-day program and unless she gets a place to stay after that, she’ll be back to the Barrie Motel with him.
For now, Orr-Duncan says he's fighting hard to be able to hold on to his beloved dogs and time is running out.
