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Homeless people with pets
I've had an eye-opening few days.
I met a woman the other night who is homeless and has a dog. She has severe arthritis that causes her constant pain, which is why she has had trouble finding work. She was identified by the city's plan to move people from the streets to stable housing, and was approved for an apartment, but cannot find a place that will rent to her with her dog, a shepherd mix. She's raised this dog since birth for the past 5 years and has to choose between her one constant companion and a roof over her head. She's was incredibly excited that she may have finally found a unit that will accept her pup. She was telling me about how the humane society has helped her get her dog neutered, chipped, and shots and her pup is really her life.
She was also telling me about "another homeless friend" who also has a dog and he was in a car accident and separated from his dog. He found his dog at the shelter, but they would not release his dog to him because he is homeless and they will not "give" dogs to homeless people. He tried to have another friend go to the shelter to adopt the dog, but the shelter said that the dog was micro-chipped and could not be put up for adoption. What a horrible situation. I think she said the guy was still trying to figure out a way to reunite with his dog.
Re: Homeless people with pets
Life and Love at #16 | our married life blog
That is terrible. Does he have social services for himself? A housing advocate? I hope she does, maybe the advocate can help her. I used to work as one and we had a homeless client with a dog. He refused shelters and housing who wouldn't let him move his dog in. The dog did die from old age one night. He disappeared for a few months, then came back and was ready to move into housing then, but we always fought for him. He will always be one of those clients that stays with me because of his dedication to his dog.
If anyone can help him- maybe letters to higher ups would be a good idea- or maybe bring the media into it. Do you really mean it that this dog is chipped with this guy's name and they still will not release the dog to him?
The homeless with pets always get to me. We live and work around a major city and encounter a lot of begging on corners. I never stop, I never hand out....until I ran across the guys standing with his pooch with a sign that said "need dog food."
Having just returned from a petsmart trip for my own spoiled puppy I ended up handing him my entire bag of wet and dry food. And then proceeded to drive back to petsmart, appreciative of the fact that I was able to rebuy everything for myself without too much financial strain.
My FI is a cop and he runs across this problem all the time. Homeless that need to be moved from cold streets who refuse to go because shelters won't take their animals. People kicked out of shelters in the middle of the night because attendants discover hidden pets. People in trouble for sneaking food out of soup kitchens only to discover they were trying to feed a pet left tied up outside.
It makes me sad. Really sad.
October 13, 2012
Many of the food banks in my area do accept pet food. I volunteer at a food bank, and we accept pet food. It's actually one of the items we frequently run out of since many people don't know that they can donate it, and we get quite a few requests for it.
I see deals online to get samples of pet foods and pet treats quite often, and even if it's something I won't feed my own dog, I get the sample anyway and donate it to the food bank.
Mr. Sammy Dog
These are all good ideas. Our city has a outreach program for the chronically homeless that do work with various community agencies to help people secure stable housing, but honestly, while it is affiliated with the police department, it is still really grass roots. The Humane Society here does help with getting homeless pets vaccinated, and even microchipped, but is seems to stop there. There are a whole host of other social issues when people have pets- people who don't trust others, have nothing else stable in their lives- but love their pets. It doesn't seem that there are many services (ie housing, shelters) for pets and people.
And to the PP above- per the woman I spoke with, the dog was microchipped with the owners name, but they would not let him take the dog because he was homeless.
I'd been thinking about contacting the community program anyway, after another incident a few weeks ago, but I think I will for sure now.
This made me want to cry. I don't know what I would do