Homeless in Albany: Woman’s service dog barrier to finding shelter, services

By Alan Mauldin
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ALBANY – After suffering a crushing tragedy early in 2024, Patricia Smith was looking for a change of scenery, a place to get herself together and find a job.

But the 42-year-old, whose fiance was fatally shot early in the year, is finding all of that difficult because of Loki.

No, not the Norse god of mischief and deception. Loki is her service dog, who is trained to provide protection when she has seizures. With no shelters willing to accept a service dog she has been sleeping outdoors for months.

After spending time in Tifton, Smith ended up in Albany, and so far she says she has not found a shelter willing to accept the American bulldog. Currently she is living in a tent because she is not willing to turn the dog, trained by her and her fiance, over to an animal shelter.

First of all, the dog can sense when she is about to have a seizure. And when she is having a seizure, Loki is trained to assist her by sitting on her lap to prevent her from thrashing and potentially injuring herself, she said. Second, the dog is a link to her past.

“Plenty of places around are willing to help, but not with him,” she said. “They won’t make any accommodations for him. Pretty much, I think I’ve called 54, 55 shelters in the state. It boils down to nobody will help you because of him. I’m not putting him in the Humane Society when he’s always been a family dog.”

As has been the case here, that also was the case in Tifton and several other cities where she made stops, Smith said.

“It’s not working well,” she said. “I’ve tried to call mobile crisis (services) to get back on mental health meds and my seizure meds. They ask will I put (Loki) in the Humane Society. Why would I put him through that trauma … and they don’t know when I’m going to have a seizure.”

When Smith spoke with a reporter last week, Loki was calm, well-behaved and friendly, and had current tags on his collar. Some people seem to confuse the American bulldog with the pit bulldog breed, Smith said.

During the interview, a crisis intervention specialist arrived at the scene and spoke briefly with Smith. When asked her issue, she explained that she has found it hard to access services due to the dog. The specialist told Smith that few agencies in the area take her health insurance and said she would check and get back in touch with her.

Because of her living conditions, Smith said she is not able to look for a job. And, she says, her situation is also dangerous.

“I’ve been assaulted out here” on more than one occasion, she said. “I don’t sleep at night. When I do sleep, I sleep with one eye open.”

Smith, whose fiance was shot on Jan. 16 in Winston Salem, N.C., and died 10 days later, said her needs are simple: shelter, food and a shower, along with her mental health medication.

“It kind of (prevents) trying to get a job,” she said. “I can’t get a shower, can’t get any clothes. I don’t really know what else to do. I tell them, ‘I’m not asking for money.’ I’m just saying, ‘this is what the situation is. Do you know anybody that has this type of work?’”

At the Albany Salvation Army, Capt. Chris Thomas said that in the past the shelter has had no space available to accommodate individuals with service animals. Earlier this year, the shelter added family units that offer separated rooms, which could serve someone with a service animal.

However, currently there are no spaces for women available, a situation that has been the case for several months.

“As far as I know, most shelters aren’t able to accommodate persons with an animal,” he said. “What she can probably do is try to get in touch with some of the churches. They may be able to get her into a hotel.”

A service animal could be accepted at the Salvation Army shelter if it had a certification, he said. Otherwise that would lead to individuals claiming any dog is a service animal.

“If (not certified), anybody could be able to come with their dog and say this is my service dog,” Thomas said. “If it’s not trained and it bit somebody, the Salvation Army would be the one liable.”

Kelly Smith, no relation to Patricia, said his reading of Americans With Disabilities Act service animal regulations broadly defines service animals. He encountered Patricia Smith on successive days, and as an animal trainer he said his training indicates that she should be allowed to receive services.

According to ADA guidelines, state and local governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public generally “must allow service animals (defined as dogs only) to accompany people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is allowed to go.”

To determine the status of a dog, according to those guidelines, staff may only ask whether the dog is required due to a disability and what work or task the dog has been trained to perform. Staff may not ask about the disability or require documentation about the disability or require special identification or training for the documentation for the dog or ask for a demonstration of the dog performing that task.

Kelly Smith, who is currently a dog obedience trainer, said he is working toward certification in training service dogs and that certification is not required for service animals.

“That’s the first thing you learn,” he said. “They’re calling this dog a pet. It’s not a pet; it’s a working animal. What she (Patricia Smith) is describing is exactly what you train a seizure dog to do. That’s textbook.”

Patricia Smith said that there is video recorded at a Tifton agency showing Loki assisting her during a seizure.

“It’s not right,” she said of her predicament. “Why am I not able to get the help I need because I have a medical need for him but nobody is willing to take him as well?”

Staff Photo: Alan [email protected]