Homelessness is a shared experience in New York City — either you have been homeless, know someone who has been homeless, or have shared the sidewalk or a subway car with someone who is homeless. In a city of 8.5 million people, more than 59,000 homeless people sleep in shelters and at least 3,300 more sleep on the streets and subways every night, many of whom have pets.
It’s quite common for people to judge homeless people unworthy of animal companionship and doubt their ability to take good care of dogs. However, for many homeless, the only emotional support, stability, and unconditional love they receive comes from the loyal pets that stay close to them throughout their hardship.
Do homeless people “deserve” to have dogs?
To find the answer, my friends and I went out on the street to conduct interviews with many homeless people who own dogs. Although they became homeless for various reasons, the one common thread we discovered was that they all strived to keep their dog’s companionship no matter what else happened in their lives. “My dog always eats first”, was the most frequent thing we heard during interviews.
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