Over at Petlvr.com there is an article about the homeless and pets. They include some links and resources for everyday people and business owners such as Pets of the Homeless.
Many homeless individuals, whether temporarily or chronically homeless, own dogs, cats or both. In some areas of the United States, nearly one in four homeless persons owns a pet. The unconditional love of a pet can sustain a person through difficult life circumstances. For many people without a stable home, a pet is a best friend, constant companion, confidante and the only source of consistency in the pet parent’s life. But much as pets can benefit people who are homeless, they may also be a factor preventing their owners from obtaining housing. People unwilling to give up their pets often find that most homeless shelters and subsidized housing projects are not open to them.
I have been studying the itinerant culture of Mill Avenue in Tempe, Arizona for several years now and one common thread amongst many of the homeless is the companionship of pets. An equal number of cats and dogs, commonly on leashes, and sometimes snakes, turtles—and yes, once a fish, although that didn’t last long on the street. Many of them have pets for the companionship, some because it deliberately restricts them from being taken to homeless shelters, others remain homeless for just this reason: refusing to give up their loved animal.
Usually, the pets with the homeless population are well cared for, but the lack of resources of their companions does translate into a certain amount of danger for the pets themselves. An itinerant person may easily get enough money to buy food for their pet, but veterinarian bills are generally entirely out of their reach—and then there’s the general dangers present to most animals who don’t have a stable domestic environment.
Link, va Petlvr.com
With all the kerfuffle over the dangers of H1N1-A (otherwise known as “swine flu”) many people are now a little more educated about the flu virus and the implications of its various forms, and that different strains may even tend to infect different species. Meet H3N8, another mean ole’ flu, but rather than threatening humans, it could be a problem for your pooch instead.