CINCINNATI – A 9-year-old cancer patient is homeless because a landlord wouldn't allow her to keep one of her pets.
Jennie Nieves said she packed up what she could fit in a U-Haul and moved from Cleveland so her daughter Daphne could get life-saving surgery at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
"We got rid of everything we owned," Nieves said. "When I get up here and he sees my dog, because she's big, he told me he couldn't rent the apartment. And because of him we're stuck being homeless with two dogs and a hotel."
The problem is one of Daphne's dogs, Sabrina, is over 50 pounds, she said. The other, Angus, is pint-sized.
Getting rid of Daphne's dogs – even just Sabrina - isn't an option because Daphne panics and she loves her dogs.
"Right now she doesn't go to school so she doesn't have friends … Those (dogs) are her only friends right now so getting rid of her dogs would be like getting rid of her friends," Nieves said.
Nieves said she cried a lot. But organizations are pitching in to help.
While Interfaith works on a home for Jennie and Daphne and their dogs, partner agencies are working on emergency financial assistance to keep them in a hotel that allows dogs.
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