When Ashlee Chaidez’s black Lab mix, Duck, charged toward her and rubbed his face — a little more gray than the last time she had seen him — against her cheek, she knew her struggles over the past several months had been worth it.
Six months ago, Chaidez, 27, and 6-year-old Duck were living out of her car around the Front Range. Chaidez dropped Duck off at doggy daycare to get him out of the summer heat while she delivered orders for Instacart, narrowly earning the money to board her beloved dog.
Chaidez barely broke even financially, was off her mental health medication and needed help, she said. But the thought of giving up Duck — her best friend and reason for getting up in the morning — while she sought inpatient psychiatric care was a blow that felt insurmountable…