Man stunned by Kilkenny kindness during search for room to rent with beloved dog

Nowadays it is becoming harder and harder to secure a new home, or even a room in Ireland. With fewer options available, soaring rent prices and the high demand for property, it can be impossible for many people.

For Stephen O'Brien, a 34-year-old man who recently secured his dream job in Kilkenny, trying to secure a living situation was even harder - because he also has his dog Batzy.

Stephen's story is nothing short of inspirational. He went from living the dream in Canada with his very own Irish food truck, to having to move back home to Cork due a personal family situation.

Stephen had to start again, finding a job and finding somewhere for himself and his 11-month-old rescue dog Batzy to live.

He owes this to the people of Kilkenny. After reaching out to a Kilkenny Facebook group with a picture of himself and Batzy, offers started to come in for the determined duo.

Stephen said that because of this he is more excited than ever to move to Kilkenny, knowing how generous and helpful the people are already.

"I started having a look for pet friendly accommodation because I brought my dog home from Canada with me. I was looking on Daft, looking on Rent.ie and the minute you put in the pet friendly filter, it just goes straight down to zero for all of Kilkenny. 

"And I guess there's only probably 20 rooms available up there...so when you put in that pet filter, it went down to zero.

"Then I wrote to the rooms anyway that didn't specify no pets. I must have emailed probably 20 or 25 different rooms or landlords. I got like two responses that they couldn't really accommodate me".

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At this point Stephen also posted himself into a Kilkenny Facebook group, but the only feedback from this was one or two scammers that replied to him offering him a fake place.

"I kind of started to get a bit stressed and worried because I had accepted a job and my pet Batzy would obviously be very important to me, like most people that have an animal would know.

"So then I decided to post a photo of us, kind of just a recent photo from Christmas of myself and the dog, pictured below, to bring a bit of connection to the post just saying that I was really struggling and stressed about being able to find pet friendly accommodation up in Kilkenny.

Stephen then received a huge response from the post with over 400 likes and more than 80 people sharing the post.

The post also had over 100 comments from people offering help, insight or support for Stephen's situation.

Stephen said that without this support he would probably still be in the same position today, stressed without any hope.

Fast forward to today, Stephen has since had five people reach out to him to offer their help so he is hoping this will help him secure a place for him and his dog.

Stephen said that his situation isn't unique and "that's the way it is across all of Ireland at the moment...you know, it's very hard to find the accommodation anywhere at all at the moment, even finding a room that suits you as well can be quite difficult".

"But yeah when you add in a pet to that, it makes everything way more difficult. I was blessed in a way and very thankful for everyone that had reached out and that gave me support or advice through the post. I'm extremely grateful for that".

Stephen was previously living in Vancouver, Canada for the last five years and while he was there he created and set up Vancouver's very first Irish food truck called The Frying Irishman in December 2024.

"We would have made everything that a traditional Irish chipper here in Ireland makes, your cheese garlic chips, cheese curry chip, spice bags...as a business development standpoint, it was fantastic.

"December 2024, I built that food truck from scratch myself. I bought an old postal van and then hired a fabricator to basically rip out the inside of the truck and turn it into a customised kitchen.

"I created the layout of the kitchen myself, where everything needed to go and then once the interior was finished, we had to go through Vancouver Coastal Health approval. There was a lot of hoops to jump through to get the truck on the road. 

"We had a deadline of St. Patrick's Day 2025 to have that ready, so we got the truck just on time and from there, we actually grew the brand even further".

Stephen said that he then reached a point in the business where he decided to sell it and move back home to family.

"I had been away from home for five years, your eyes kind of open up when a situation like that comes up or your circumstances change, and I guess family always comes first. So I made the decision to kind of step away from the business and come home to Ireland. 

"It was originally going to be temporary, but once I got home and I guess I saw how things were at home I decided that this is my time to just come home and support my family more long term".