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Animal companions help
the homeless
May 8, 2008
A friend who manages a day-care center for homeless women with
mental disabilities in the Los Angeles area recently told me it's
not uncommon for some of her clients to have pets. Rather than
discouraging the relationship, her organization works with animal
agencies to make sure the pets are safe and healthy. The pets often
are a benefit to the client's mental well-being, she said.
In large part because of the number of mental health services
eliminated in our region after Hurricane Katrina, we don't have a
similar program in place. But humane organizations such as the
Louisiana SPCA, working in tangent with other social service
organizations, is a key component in managing many animal-welfare
issues that affect communities on multiple levels.
When coming to and from work every day, I see young adults who
appear homeless and are accompanied by an animal. I don't see any
harm being done to the animals in these brief sightings, but I often
worry about their quality of life. Our humane officers recently were
called in by the New Orleans Police Department to manage a situation
where several young adults were living on a bus, along with several
animals. What we discovered was that most of the pets were in better
shape than their humans.
It is estimated that nationwide 5 percent to 10 percent of homeless
people have pets. As my friend pointed out in the work she has
witnessed, these animal companions give her clients a sense of
purpose and aid in their physical and mental health.
Caesar Milan, the dog whisperer, offered an interesting take on the
subject in an article in Catalyst magazine. He said dogs who live
with a homeless person are often well-adjusted because of constant
walking, their sense of being in a pack with their human leader and
the purpose they gain in having to search for food.
Of course, this doesn't mean that a homeless life is recommended for
our canine companions. A life on the streets, even with humans,
makes them more susceptible to malnutrition, injuries, diseases and
potentially dangerous situations -- not to mention little or no vet
care. Understanding how animals' lives affect us positively, even in
the direst situation of being homeless, again illustrates the
amazing contribution companion animals make in our lives.
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Gloria Dauphin
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