By: Ronnie Casey
“Give a Dog a Bone Week” occurs the first full week in August and was created by (Feeding) Pets of the Homeless (https://petsofthehomeless.org/. The observance’s intent is to provide an opportunity to raise awareness about pets and the homeless population. Even though this “observance” is ending, the need within our community for donations of food and money from individuals and businesses to feed stray animals and the pets of homeless people remains.
As we all know, the presence of a pet in the life of someone in crisis is a comfort. Pets provide constant companionship, emotional support and security for not only us but for those who are homeless, too.
It is estimated that approximately 10% of homeless people have one or more pets. A number of years ago, it was argued many that if a person cannot take care of themselves, they cannot care for their pets. Poor people, financially challenged, low-income, homeless, or whatever other moniker one cares to use, can and do love their animals as much as someone with a hefty bank account. Lack of finances does not necessarily indicate the character of a person. A struggling individual deserves the same cherished connection to an animal as anyone else. However, despite past criticism, efforts to support the animals and their guardians are increasing.
Aimee Gilbreath, President of PetSmart Charities and former Executive Director of the Michelson Found Animals Foundation, summed it up succinctly, “Pets play such an amazing supportive role in people’s physical and emotional health … And the ability to have access to that joy shouldn’t be based on income.”
Pets are non-judgmental and do not care whether the bed is a down-fluffed mattress or a stack of newspapers on the ground. They provide a sense of security in an often-hostile environment. Pets can also provide a touch of reality in a sometimes-unreal world. They provide the connection to reality that some need to have reinforced.
Pets can help provide a purpose for living and friendship to individuals who have none. Let’s face it; it is not uncommon to see a homeless individual with a dog on a makeshift leash or a cat curled up on the sidewalk beside him. In many instances, the animal companion might be the closest, or only, friend that person has. Dr. Leslie Irvine of the University of Colorado, Boulder drives those points home in her 2012 book “My Dog Always Eats First” (https://www.rienner.com/uploads/50a50e1fe08fc.pdf) and, subsequently, the paper “Animals as Lifechangers and Lifesavers: Pets in the Redemption Narratives of Homeless People” (https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=acwp_habr ).
