I SLEPT UNDER A BRIDGE — BUT MY DOG KEPT ME WARM,
Life on the Streets
Rock bottom wasn’t losing my home or job—it was realizing no one had said my name in two weeks. No one but Bixby, my dog. He couldn’t speak, but every morning his eyes told me, You’re still my person.
Unbreakable Bond
We faced shelters turning us away for having a dog, freezing nights under a tarp, and days without food. Once, someone threw a sausage biscuit from a car. I split it in half, but Bixby nudged his share to me. “You first. I can wait.” That broke something in me.
Finding Dignity
I started holding a cardboard sign—not to beg, but to tell our story. People saw the dirt, but they didn’t see how he kept me human.
A Chance Encounter
Last week, as I packed to move, a woman in scrubs stopped, looked at Bixby, then at me, and said five words that changed everything.
