Reopen Texas Pups!

I would like to share a tragic story of how a couple lost everything they worked so hard for their entire life in a matter of a month and a half due to Covid-19. Ov and Alisha got married December of 2018, after that they decided as a couple to put their entire life savings into a business where they can make a difference not only in our community but in the lives of others through their passion and love for animals. They have three of their own fur babies, so they opened a doggy day care called Texas Pups located 800 W. Eldorado Pkwy Ste 110, Little Elm, Tx 75068. A daycare where your babies can come and play in a free roaming facility. They worked day and night to start up the business and build a steady clientele who became their family. They work with local shelters to volunteer and try to give back as much as they can to our community in Little Elm, Tx. Starting mid-March is where things started slowing down for them. As people were not traveling, they were not coming in for daycare or boarding services. Then April came around and due to COVID-19 and per the Executive Order they were not considered essential business, so they had to close their doors. They notified the landlord whom they lease their commercial location from and informed him that they are trying to take advantage of any and every assistance that’s being given by city, state and country. Ov applied for the SBA loan and have yet to hear back from anyone regarding the current status. As soon as they are able to open once the stay at home order is lifted, they will be able to take care of the rent etc. They requested him and let him know their entire life investment went into this and the last thing they want to do is loose their business due to something that’s beyond their control. This is their livelihood! And they will comply and want to work together to come out of this together. They have built a relationship with him or they thought they did as they have been his tenants for the past year.  Last night their world came to a halt when another tenant from the same strip mall called and asked them if they were moving their location since she saw construction going on in their daycare. They were confused so they took a trip to their location and that’s when they noticed everything was just gone. He did not call, email or send them any further communication, instead he went into their location, and took everything they had, over $40,000 worth of materials and equipment for their daycare were just gone. He threw some out and the rest is nowhere to be found. They reached out to him to see what was going on and nothing! Come to find out he just took everything from them, demolished the location so he can re-rent the space to someone else during a time where they should have come together as individuals and be there for one another. No communication, no letter to evacuate the premises, no court ordered eviction, just went in and took everything they owned without their knowledge. Personally, communication at a time like this is a trademark of being a decent human being that they simply did not receive. How can you do something like this to someone despite having legal orders in place by the state to currently suspend business evictions due to the stay at home order in place? How can someone decide to just take another individual’s entire life’s work away during a global pandemic? Now here they are already frustrated as to how they were going to comeback slowly but surely to be able to do what they love in a community they love during a global crisis. They now will come out of this with lawyer costs, loans, and trying to figure out if they will ever be able to start back up again. I want their story to be a voice for other small business owners who are and will be going through the same thing as we all come out of this and try to come back strong as individuals and as a community. I want to be the voice to request justice for people like them and other small business owners from landlords like (Lakshmi Invest Properties) who can take everything away during this time without following the proper protocols. Where do they go when they followed the rules, have taken the proper steps they were directed to take and yet they are left with out any help to come out of this. We would like someone to take their story and at least let the community and the nation know how they are suffering mentally, physically, and financially. We would like proper justice to come into play to protect the ones that have followed the rules and have played their part into trying to survive and come out with assistance from individuals who have the power to make a change, and a difference. They have actively given to our city and state as a residential as well as a business taxpayer. It’s time our community, our city and our state officials stand up for justice and assist individuals like them to get justice rather than coming out of this in debt with no income and lose everything they have worked their entire lives for.