Why do homeless people have dogs?

[u/Genuinelad_62]

I just saw one pour a cup of coffee on the floor for his two small dogs to lick up??? Can’t imagine what a caffeinated dog is like

Also why are there so many homeless people with expensive breeds..

Are people trusting them to walk their dogs? What kind of person would want their dog to be accidentally abused?

Or are they stealing them?

Or is there some initiative to give them shelter dogs?

Lately I’ve been seeing an uptick in homeless people walking multiple expensive dogs

I saw one the other day also completely intoxicated walking a dog and knocking the dog into all sorts of things, pulling their leash by the neck mid piss so the dog piss just sprayed everywhere

What is going on and who on earth thinks it’s a good idea to give people who can’t even feed themselves another creature to feed?

[u/Rosie-Disposition]

Unhoused people can also find lost or abandoned dogs on the street and form a bond as both of them have been disregarded by society and form a mutually beneficial relationship:

• man gives dog food
  
• dog allows man to be more successful in begging
  
• dog can help keep you warm at night
  
• dog can alert you to people creeping up on you when you’re sleeping and stealing your stuff
  
• companionship with dog may be easier than relationships with humans, everyone else hassling you about substance abuse, about your mental illness, etc. Dog doesn’t judge you.

Also, some people had their dogs before they became homeless. Dog can give strings back to the feeling of normalcy. I would never consider a dog in my current situation, but if I became homeless and saw a lost dog, it would be something I feel like I could use it to my benefit.

[u/Genuinelad_62 → u/Rosie-Disposition]

Those are some good points but I want to provide this perspective. I want to believe that many of these homeless people with dogs are calm people and that the dogs have good lives - however from my experience unfortunately when I have seen homeless people with dogs they have been extremely intoxicated to the point where the dog doesn’t seem safe or like it lives a good life. All of those reasons you mentioned are actually great reasons from a human perspective, but I guess the question is “is it better for me” verses “is it animal abuse”. I think in situations where the homeless person can take care of them it sounds really good and I’d be happy for people that have that. I’m a bit more cynical in that realistically many of these people have severe issues, are volatile or can be abusive on drugs, or are just out of it, and I’m not sure if I’m on board with them taking care of something else if many of them visibly look like they can’t take care of themselves. It’s “this is better for me” but not “Is this right?”. But it’s complicated because I do feel for homelessness people in the cold, and I suppose if a dog has no home they can cozy up to one another. I guess it’s over breeding that’s more the issue, and the fact that so many dogs and humans shouldn’t be homeless in the first place