I’ve seen that trick before. All I can say is if they cant afford to take care of themselves, why keep a dog?
Just the other night on our local news, they had an emotional story about a woman and her children (no father around, of course) who needed help for the basics of life. I noticed they had 3 dogs in their apartment. I thought - how much does it cost to keep 3 dogs?
Maybe the dog was his best friend before they fell on hard times. And when they started shooting bad, the doggie was up to the game.
Perhaps because the owner has compassion and the dog may be his only friend.
A lot of homeless people in the Long Beach CA area keep dogs and cats because a-holes dump their pets along the riverbeds and freeways. People I know will often drop off pet food for them and I carry extra leashes and collars in my vehicle in case they need one.
“why keep a dog?”
For people like that the dog is a prop, nothing more, to get people to give them money.
I was thinking the same thing about keeping a dog, but then I thought maybe it’s his only companion.
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.