Bryan Pettibone, a homeless man with two dogs, found a nice spot last year to put up his tent next to a bridge on Wells Avenue in Reno. Drugs and alcohol weren't tolerated if you wanted to join him and pitch your own tent there. Soon, it became a "tent city", with more and more homeless. Many had pets, which aren't accepted in homeless shelters. But when the temperatures started dropping at the end of October, the homeless and their animals living there were evicted and the spot was fenced in. #OurTownReno will document this eviction in an upcoming mini-documentary.
Bryan Pettibone was known as "The Mayor" of the Wells Avenue tent city before it was fenced off.
On his homeless situation: "I'm on Social Security. I make $733 a month minus bank charges and whatever. I'm looking at $550 / $600 that I can spend. You can't find an apartment even a real good studio for less than $700 and it's getting ridiculous."
The eviction notice he was served the day before police came in to disband the tent city.
On cutting the weeds at the location of the "Tent City" and being evicted: "We tried to hide, that didn't work. Now we're exposed that doesn't work. What else is there? If I had the money I'd go build a place where homeless people can go stay with dogs."
Tent city residents receive a visit from workers of the Nevada Humane Society who check up on their pets.
On not being able to keep your pets at homeless shelters: "That's a lot of people's problems now is that they are homeless with their animals and the homeless shelter does not take animals so they have no resolution for the homeless with animals."
One of his two dogs got a new collar, the day before the eviction took place and the spot was eventually fenced in. It was a small consolation for Bryan and the other homeless living there with their pets.