“I know what it is to love a person. I love my parents; I love my brothers and sisters. I have been with love with you know a woman before and I know it doesn’t even compare to how I feel about these dogs.”
— Francis Dornfried
Hawaii homeless shelters mostly allow people with dogs but not someone carrying seven dogs. Francis Dornfried is such kind of person who chose to live with his seven dogs over getting a job or even finding a shelter. Living for the past seven years with these dogs, he has shifted place to place. After losing his van last year, he has started to camp in Kapahulu, one of the busiest transit next to Waikiki.
State law prohibits people from sleeping in government property including underneath the highway and sidewalks. Homelessness on the sidewalks is evidence that shelters are not always the choice for the people living on the streets.
Dornfried, 51, always seen in the intersection of Kapiolani Blvd and Kapahulu, surrounded by his dogs laying on blanket spreads. Packets of dog food on the side, line of water bowls, cooking pots, and a big box. According to him, the love and support from the community are enormous. Everything he and his dog receives is all given by the community people.
