#A dance of fire and ice osu Patch#
#A dance of fire and ice osu series#

#A dance of fire and ice osu Patch#

To make their temporary home cozier, McWilliams and Jack had placed blue-and-yellow carpet, faux wood panels and a patch of artificial turf on the concrete outside their tent. 'It’s really important to keep the families whole.' “When we’re serving somebody on the streets, we’re serving the whole need, which includes their companions,” Murphy said. But, he added, ducks can 'definitely imprint on people.' (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 'Ducks aren't quite as social, evolutionarily, as chickens are,' said Richard Blatchford, a poultry extension specialist at UC Davis. McWilliams shops with Cardi D at a CVS store downtown. Team members also help get people into interim or permanent housing that allows for pets or emotional support animals. LAHSA works on connecting those who are homeless with veterinary care and food resources for their companions, she said.

There have been dogs, cats, guinea pigs and snakes. When it comes to animal companions of the unhoused, Colleen Murphy, LAHSA’s associate director of unsheltered strategies, has pretty much seen it all. McWilliams hopes for a house with a yard. They had received a housing voucher with the help of their Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority caseworker, but are still struggling to find permanent housing. They were living on unemployment and odd jobs. They'd been staying at the downtown hotel for almost a year through Project Roomkey, a homeless relief initiative launched at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. McWilliams and her boyfriend Jack had been living under the overpass since May they moved there after they were kicked out of the L.A. She no longer sounded like a squeaky toy and was shedding feathers, white tufts floating around her like dandelion fluff in the wind. Cocoa Puffs are a favorite.Īnd she's going through puberty, McWilliams noted.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)Ĭardi D also eats watermelon, mealworms, crickets, cockroaches and even cereal. At right, Cardi D plays with Daddy, a male kitten. At left, she sets out a bowl with a mixture of grains for the duck. Top: McWilliams watches as Cardi D cools off inside an inflatable pool at her homeless encampment in downtown L.A. Sometimes, when she visited her dad, they slept in the back of his truck along a riverbed. When he became homeless, McWilliams lived with her aunt in Paso Robles. She spent her first seven years with her father, Martin, who struggled with alcoholism. Her mom, she said, abandoned her at the hospital so she could get high. McWilliams was born in the city of Atascadero, a little more than 200 miles north of Los Angeles. “Everyone in my life that I love goes away,” she says, watching her duck. McWilliams is constantly reminded that much of her life has been defined by loss.

#A dance of fire and ice osu series#

Before Cardi D waddled into her life, McWilliams relied on a series of other ducks for support all four of them died within a matter of months. The duck relies on McWilliams to keep her safe.Īfter all, life on the street - for both humans and ducks - isn’t easy. She says she relies on Cardi D to keep her calm. McWilliams, 33, has been homeless off and on for half her life. Walking with the duck feels like being part of a celebrity entourage, she says, with newly minted fans flocking for a closer look. McWilliams takes Cardi D everywhere: on the bus, the train - even to the dreaded DMV. Inside the stroller was the center of attention: a Pekin duck known as Cardi D. They quacked and shouted 'Aflac!,' a nod to the ubiquitous insurance spokes-duck. From a distance, Autumn McWilliams could have been any mother out with her baby - until passersby drew near and caught sight of the creamy white feathers. No one took a second look at the young woman pushing the maroon stroller through the concrete tangle of downtown Los Angeles. Walking with her feels like being part of a celebrity entourage, she says, with newly minted fans flocking for a closer look. She takes the duck everywhere: on the bus, the train - even to the dreaded DMV. Autumn McWilliams, who is homeless, walks along Grand Avenue with Cardi D.