Avery has lived in the area for about seven years. I interviewed him when he first came to the community, living outside in a tent on property no one was using and which was owned by an out of state management company. He came with five dogs and became known as "dog man" until people learned his name. He is still often referred to that way because he has a tendency to change his name fairly regularly. When I met him he was Jose Beijing. He was born Thomas. He is now Avery. He is still - and always - "dog man."
He now has 23 dogs, most dropped off by people who didn't want them and left the dog at the end of the driveway that leads to where a house used to stand, and now leads to his shelter and dog pens.
This is an aged beagle, Revy, who suffered a stroke on Easter. Avery sings to her every day, hand feeds her when necessary, and is doing physical therapy with her, helping her to walk. His gentleness and caring of her is incredibly touching.