Posted on 02/17/2014 7:56:56 PM PST by jespasinthru
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day. I walked out of a WalMart in St. Petersburg, Florida, and I was confronted by a pandhandler. An elderly white gentleman in his mid-60's, neatly dressed and clean-shaven. And he had this cute little doggie on a leash. His spiel was that he only got 500 dollars a month in Social Security, and most of it went for the rent of his kitchenette apartment. He could just barely afford to feed himself. He couldn't afford dog food, so he was panhandling just to get some change to feed his dog. And that little doggie was an expert hustler. He looked like a cross between a chihuahua and a beagle. He had big pointy ears, and one of his ears was crooked. And that little deformity just added to his cuteness. He walked up to me with a big smile on his face, wagging his tail, asking to be petted. I gave that man five dollars, and he said "God bless you." As I was walking to my car, I saw him talking to a lady who was obviously a tourist (you can tell them from the locals). Not only did she give him money, but she went to the vending machine and bought a bottle of water for him to give to that adorable little doggie because she thought he was thirsty. That dog had great people skills. I'll bet that man made a couple of hundred dollars that day.
Whew…I skated by that by the skin of my teeth. 62 going on 63 in a half year. I guess I’ll be “elderly” soon, too.
A couple of hundred Vet bill$ later, she's all good.
He’s panhandling to pay for drugs or alcohol, as is the case with 99.99% of panhandlers.
“I’ll bet that man made a couple of hundred dollars that day.’
And probably every day...
“why keep a dog?”
For people like that the dog is a prop, nothing more, to get people to give them money.
“No pic of the dog = no buy of the story.”
Actually the story is quite believable, I’ve seen similar things myself, including another real story that at some point was in the news, where someone was panhandling with a cute dog, then at the end of the day he went around the corner, got into his nice car and drove home to his nice house, which he owned free and clear.
I wish I had bookmarked the article...
No dog pic —> no peace.
it depends on how well they care for them. if one gets sick do they let it die,or drop it somewhere to die, or do they actually get them real care if they get sick.
Maybe I was played for a sucker. But both the man and his little dog looked thin and hungry. And he didn’t have the haunted, desperate look that you see on drug addicts and alcoholics. He looked to me like a decent man who was down on his luck, with nobody at his side except his little doggie. My heart went out to them.
He should attempt to create his own work. For example, I knew a guy, who immigrated to my country, who went from convenience store to convenience store offering to do nothing more than stock their product on the shelves for a couple of bucks each day. This was a win-win, because he took low productive work off an employer’s hands, allowing the employer to concentrate on more productive activities and the guy eventually made some reasonable coin because he was earning, on a per hour basis, a higher income than what he probably would have made if he had become a convenience store employee.
He now has his own business and drives a very nice truck.
RE: “He’s eligible for $190 a month in food stamps.”
Not to mention 1-3 free or subsidized meals per day at Senior Centers around St. Pete.
Not to mention free groceries for his house from various Food Banks.
Plus reduced bus fare, or no bus fare, to get to the Centers or the Food Banks.
And the dog?
My Aunt used to be the President of “Helping Paws” in Illinois.
They provide free food for pets and subsidized referrals to Vets.
There are many such pet organizations in America.
Bottom Line - the average American who takes care of all his own bills has NO CONCEPTION of how much welfare is available for the poor.
“My heart went out to them...”
Mine would have also, jespasinthru. Do not regret giving the man some aid. You performed a Christian act and for that.. I thank you.
I was thinking the same thing about keeping a dog, but then I thought maybe it’s his only companion.
My guess is the old guy just wanted to talk to someone. Why didn’t you just buy him dog food?
Because the dog brings in more income than it costs to maintain.
I will only give money to panhandlers if they are missing a limb or they have a dog! I got a ticket for running a red light a few months ago. It was a big lonely intersection and the only 2 people there was me and a drooling meth-head........ except for the cop who was hiding. I refused to stop and let the meth-head drool on my Tahoe. It cost me $275.
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