Why do homeless people abroad need a dog when they can't save their own lives?

What pets mean to those homeless people.

While waiting for the traffic lights, I saw a man pushing a shopping cart and leading a dog. There is nothing in his shopping cart except a few bags. He put a bowl on the sidewalk and poured water from the bottle. The dog is waiting.

I met them again on my way home. This time, the dog is riding on the car-when you have a golden retriever, there is no room. The dog looks happy, looking at people coming and going, and that person is pushing a cart.

The relationship between man and dog is obvious. But should homeless people keep pets? Why do they keep pets?

Studies have shown that pets are of great significance to homeless people, and can even be a driving force for cleaning, leaving the street and/or looking for a job.

According to Owen's description in 20 13, the characteristics of pets are embodied in what she calls a "redemption narrative" or a homeless person: "Encourage them to change their lives or prevent them from taking their lives."

Owen gave an example-Donna, who lives in a car with her cat in San Francisco. When talking about her cat, she said, "She is the only source of my daily stable feelings and friendship. This is my only one. I can't imagine how life will go on without her. "

According to Owen, when homeless people talk about their pets, they show the responsibility to take care of animals and accept their unconditional love instead of being judged for their mistakes in life.

In fact, a survey of homeless young people in Los Angeles initiated by Roddis, Wanhe Rice in 20 14 found that although pets bring them some troubles (for example, pets are usually not allowed to enter shelters), they can also bring psychological benefits. Especially young tramps with pets are less likely to feel lonely and depressed than those without pets. Although many people report that it is sometimes difficult to provide support for their pets (such as veterinarians), most people say that they ensure that their pets are always fed first.

The advantages and disadvantages of this discovery have also been affirmed by Lem(20 16), who said that dogs provide safe and emotional support for homeless young people. When a person's history involves trauma and unsafe attachment, just like homeless young people, attachment to pets may even be the first safe attachment in their lives.

People may be surprised to find that homeless dogs are usually healthy and well cared for. Williams and Hogg (20 16) compared the dogs of 50 homeless people with those of 50 people with only families. After the owner completed the questionnaire survey, they gave the dog a brief veterinary examination. Homeless dogs are less likely to be obese or have behavioral problems. In the street, dogs get along with others more easily. They often spend a long time walking every day, so those dogs with homes don't have to walk all day.

Unfortunately, some dogs have calluses on their paws because they have been walking on the city streets for a long time. Only 39% of stray dogs are vaccinated with the latest vaccine, and only 30% of dogs are regularly deworming. Many owners said it was difficult to get veterinary medical insurance. This shows the value of clinics that provide free or low-cost veterinary services to low-income families or people without housing.

Roddis, Wan Zhoubo and Les summed up their research and said: "Because pets have a positive impact on the mental health of homeless teenagers, we suggest that service providers do their best to support pet keeping in this extremely fragile interpersonal relationship.

In their research, about a quarter of homeless young people have pets. It seems that for those homeless people who have pets, helping them support their pets may also help them, because pets have potential beneficial effects. However, we still need to better understand the psychological mechanism that pets can improve the mental health of this group.

In-depth study can also continue to explore the influence of attachment on people with attachment problems in the relationship between pets and owners.