You can’t do much without ID. For the homeless, lack of identification can complicate employment, access to food stamps, welfare and Social Security benefits – even getting a motel room for the night.

One of the few things a homeless person can get without nine digits or a recent photo is the love and companionship of a pet. Animal companions provide a sense of security that the affliction of homelessness may have stripped away.

Unfortunately, that bond can also lead to trouble. Pets, particularly dogs, may attack strangers — including police officers – to defend their homeless caretakers. The consequences of their devotion are a sad reminder of reality.

In 2010, a Kroger Foods security guard shot and killed Axle, after getting into a confrontation with the dog’s owner, Charlie, in Nashville, TN.

In March of 2013, a San Francisco police officer was trying to wake up a homeless man when he was bitten by the man’s loyal companion. The officer then shot and killed the dog.

And firearms aren’t the only threat to these four-legged angels.

In December of 2011, Daniel, a homeless man, brought his cat Scruffy to the Arizona Humane Society to treat her wound she received from a barbed wire fence. When the clinic refused to take a credit card from Daniel’s mother or wait one day for her to wire him the money, Daniel had no choice but to hand Scruffy over under the promise that she would be treated and placed in foster care. Five days later, Scruffy was euthanized due to a purported lack of veterinary services in the area.

After public outcry, the clinic revised its policies.

For many homeless people, the only identity that matters is their status as friend and family member to a beloved animal companion.

It’s up to us as a society to improve the safety and security of these animals and prevent similar tragedies.