Separating The Homeless From Their Pets Is Cruel

The vast majority of homeless shelters force people to choose between their companion animals and warmth.

Fabrice Dube lives in a tent in a wooded area bordering I-95 in Connecticut.

He’s got a propane heater which he describes as “miraculous,” some baby wipes and a creek nearby where he washes his clothes. Even though it’s bitterly cold outside — it’s 34 degrees out as I type this, we just had our first snowfall of the winter and Dube lives only 12 miles or so from Casa de Buddy — Dube won’t stay in a shelter for one reason that means all the world to him.

That’s Cali, the four-year-old orange tabby who sleeps in his arms every night, has been with him since he lost his job and home, and is the only individual in the world who provides Dube with the unconditional love and companionship every person needs.

Dube’s situation, his love for Cali and a Connecticut lawmaker’s campaign to help him are detailed in a compassionate story by Angela Carella in CT Examiner. I recommend reading the whole thing, which explains why people with animals aren’t welcome in homeless shelters and ongoing efforts to change that by those who realize asking a person without a home to give up their companion is not only cruel, it’s a significant barrier to helping them get on their feet.

Homeless man and dog
A homeless man with his dog. Credit: GlobalGiving

David Michel, the aforementioned Connecticut state representative, experienced homelessness firsthand when he was a young man and lived on the streets of New York City one winter.

“What a lot of people don’t get is that, once you are homeless, your life is completely different. You have to stay awake at night to protect yourself,” Michel told Carella. “Without sleep, I couldn’t function in the day anymore. People can’t understand why homeless people can’t get out of it. But once you pass that threshold, the infrastructure of your life collapses, and getting back on your feet requires major help.”

If a condition of accepting help is giving up a beloved pet, many people, like Dube, will opt to tough it out in brutal conditions rather than trade their animal companion for warmth. Their struggles are compounded by the ignorance of some people who call them selfish for keeping pets while homeless, not understanding that those men and women will often go hungry if the choice is between feeding their cat or dog and themselves.

Think about all the times you’ve had a bad day or teetered on the edge of depression, and the non-judgmental love of your furry friend helped you get through it. Or the days when you didn’t want to get out of bed, but your responsibility to an innocent animal helped rouse you. Little Bud has done all that and more for me, and I can’t imagine asking a person without a home to give up one of the few sources of joy in their lives.

COVID, inflation and a bad economy have created the conditions for record homelessness in 2022, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Many people think the homeless are almost always drug or alcohol addicts, but that’s increasingly not the case. More often they’re people who, like tens of millions of Americans, live paycheck to paycheck and suffer a setback that pushes them across the threshold Michel mentioned.

“As with housed persons, the companionship, support and unconditional love provided by that pet is invaluable,” the ASPCA notes. “Studies have shown that people experiencing homelessness report that their pets provide a sense of responsibility and are a reason to live, reduce substance use, and motivated them to seek healthcare. Moreover, pets are viewed as a stable source of social support, companionship and security.”

16 thoughts on “Separating The Homeless From Their Pets Is Cruel”

  1. This is disgusting!! I know homeless people who take care of thier pets better than some people with homes. And that includes strays and ferals! Ran into a man who asked for few cents for cat food. Of course i did not believe him. My trusting nature has been damaged over the years. I was polite and asked him why cat food. He said follow him around the corner. Behind the fence was a stray he said he feeds. This was a new area for me when i worked in that area years ago. I gave him money enough for a week. The bodega i was in confirmed this man always bought cat food there. Worker said when the man had sandwhich meat from food pantry for homeless he always gave it to cat. Now he is provided food by my friends who drive there to donate cat food for ferals in that area of Brooklyn.

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    1. Good point. I don’t understand how anyone can think that’s a good idea when there’s an enormous amount of data showing pets have a positive effect on physical and mental health.

      I get that some people have allergies and weakened immune systems, but where there’s a will there’s a way, and having separate facilities for people with companion animals could be a simple fix.

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    1. To M. My friend helped out a woman who lived in subways with her dog in Brooklyn.Winter coat and socks. I bought woman a carrier with wheels big enough for her small dog. Last i heard she found small apt with her sister.

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    2. About 15 years ago founder of cat rescue group took two cats from woman who was about to be homeless. I found out two years ago by accident woman never had the chance to be homeles. She committed suicide. Group kept that from me with good reason.

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  5. I agree on all points. Homelessness is most frequently caused by economic circumstances. People and pets should be provided for together. That should include those persons who have to go into care facilities. We are caring for the cat of someone who went into assisted living. Shame on landlords who are act quickly to evict people. And on those landlords who don’t allow pets, too.

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  6. And another thing. All homeless are not drunks or drug addicts. That is bs. In 2022 a 16 year old was thrown out with his cat by his pos parents because he told them he way gay. My brother works in Manhattan and stumbled upon this kid. My brother asked if group can help with food for his cat. We pitched in for a ticket to Boston to live with his aunt. Aunt had no clue her sibling was a pos homophobe who would throw out his kid.

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  7. I just recently got housed after four years of homelessness in Minnesota. I met a nice lady who said that she would take care of my Maine Coon cat while I was living in a tent in one of the parks. I offered to pay for his food and litter through Chewy.com, but she turned me down.

    Now she won’t return my phone calls. I haven’t seen my cat from three years. She used to send me photos of him, but that stopped a couple of years ago.

    I still have her phone number, but I don’t know how to do a reverse search. And I don’t have the money to hire a private investigator. I’m still really upset about it.

    If you ask me, it seems like catnapping – and I don’t mean a nice afternoon nap!

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    1. Susan, I have a subscription lookup service that allows me to look up anything. If you want to email me, I’d be happy to do that. Or maybe BIG Buddy can act as a go-between? She needs to give you back your baby!

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      1. To Lisa. Anyone can be found these days i found out. The pos owners who dumped eldery cat on me? My friend found every single relative on both sides and all got letters from me about with they did. Including evidence they stiffed me with bill. And found out this is the Deere family. As in JOHN DEERE tractor company.

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    3. To Susan. Sorry to hear this. Read my statement about my trusting nature? I have no trust anymore.Nail in the coffin was Furmina the elderly cat who was dumped on . Could not afford to keep her and thank God she was adopted by angel a block away from m.

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  8. Absolutely wrong. How can anyone take away just a small comfort from a beautiful friend to a homeless person. Its James and Bob the cat thats the proof of how these relationhips work. I would not want to be homeless ( and that God that I am housed) but Bella would be with me if I was.

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    1. Exactly. Anyone who tried to take Bud would have to pry him from my cold, dead fingers…and then suffer the considerable wrath of Buddy himself.

      I never finished watching the Bob movie but the original book was a compelling look at homelessness in addition to Bob himself. I still can’t believe he was hit by a car.

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