When 57-year-old teacher Hilary Barrows could not afford her apartment in France, there was no doubt in her mind that her dogs were getting to stick with her regardless of where she ended up. With such much uncertainty, she got her dogs, Robbie and Cleo, packed up and in the car where the three depart from France to Denmark in search of English teaching jobs. With nowhere to go, she and her dog spent countless nights in the car.
However, when the job opportunities fell through, Barros had to return to his home in England. During the repulsion, Barros lived in the Salvation Army shelter of tons, where she had to spend the night in the car.
Barrows explained to The Dodo, “I cannot tell you the humiliation I felt staying here. Despite the heat and food, these places made me feel worse about myself. I used to be trading my dignity and independence for a bed and food.”
In order to urge her dogs the right vaccinations that she needed to re-enter the United Kingdom, Barrows found herself having to unload family jewelry. However, her struggles were far away from over – there have been more to return once she was back in the UK. Barrows was offered emergency housing, but it came with a stipulation: she had to offer up Robbie and Cleo. As she later stated, “I refused to offer them up for rehoming. I used to be almost at the top of my rope. Only my dogs kept me going.” Barrows still had her car, so she was living out of that. However, she was unable to seek out work since she was unable to supply a permanent address. Through it all, she would often skip meals so as to form sure that Robbie and Cleo had enough to eat “I had to ask a woman for a £1 once I was within the parking zone to feed my dogs. I think I am definitely a loser. I couldn't let my dogs go hungry,” Barrows said. Barrows’ luck finally took a turn for the higher when she was featured in a piece of writing by her local paper. They helped to shed some light on the horrible merry-go-round cycle that she was on, and so the article had some positive ripple effects for Barrows and her dogs. Barrows added, “I also decided that I could help others with my story. Many homeless people have pets and these pets are their lifeline. My dogs are the sole thing that kept me from suicide. I could never abandon them.”
Hillary BBarrows had found out a GoFundMe to assist her collect money for rent, but she was overwhelmed by the kindness and support shown to her from strangers everywhere the planet. She was offered a short lived place to remain by an area dog trainer who also runs shelter. All the support and love from people and fellow dog lovers in the community helped Barrow to eventually revisit on her feet, as all she wanted was just to be ready to provide Robbie and Cleo a stable home.
As Barrow shared on her fundraising page – which has since been deleted – “I promised to like and protect my babies until the day they expire. They have me and that I need them.”