Why do I always find all the sad crap on the internet?
 

http://i369.photobucket.com/albums/o...3/2a39bb56.jpg

sigh

lolcats - lolcats = not lolcats

awww, dammit, gotta be made of stone not to feel sad by that

I found it sweet, the way the dog is curled up. I don't know quite why but I'm an optimist and choose to believe hes just waiting for someone to arrive
(I've done what is pictured while waiting for a ride to pick me up after the buses stopped running/didn't have change)

If I'm not mistaken, I've seen those guys around. The dog's always in his lap when they're sitting.

I wonder if he's crazy and yells at people.

I knew a homeless woman that had a dog. Yeah, she'd get drunk a lot, but only if she had enough money to feed her dog, I found that amazing.
Maybe for a homeless person, a dog is the greatest thing to have(you know, besides food and shelter).

Hey, Crack:

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...depression.jpg

??????????????????????????

really? didn't bother me in the fucking slightest. I'd step right over him and his dog without a backwards glance. When I lived in Europe, i used to step over barefoot gypsy kids begging on the streets in the middle of winter, didn't bother me in the slightest.

sad?
 

i've got more.

Well.



Crap.

I don't like homeless people too much... they're bountiful here in California... and also very bothersome. Not all of them.. but the crazy or drugged up ones are. I wouldn't feel the least bit sorry for the homeless owner if it weren't for the dog. Not that the dog makes his situation anymore sorrowful... just the fact the dog can love such a wrecked person that people like me would just walk by and totally look the other way and hope to dear god that he doesn't come up to me for spare change. (I'm so mean. :P )


Also.. the picture of the African child and the vulture always makes me sad. My friend in the peace corps went to Africa and witnessed a child shaking violently because he hadn't eaten in weeks and when he finally ate that day.. his body wasn't used to having so much food inside of it. and it wasn't even that much food she said. It was like half the size of a Panda Express Pandabowl.

http://pics.livejournal.com/belyimitia/pic/000rwxga

Looks like the same person...

I've never liked the homeless person with dog type thing. It just feels wrong to me. Like they've taken up with this animal just to tug at people more and increase their income from begging.

As biznatch said above, I'm sure that there are some who truly love their dogs and would feed the dog before they feed themselves (or drink). But I fear that would be the exception rather than the rule.

I remain divided on the issue. On one hand, a dog is a faithful friend through all circumstances and what they crave more than anything is love. On the other hand, why put that dog through your miserable lifestyle when there are many loving families that might give the dog a home.

As an aside, I used to live in a college/professional town in Florida. A newspaper reporter did a story on one 'homeless' guy who would stand and beg for a few hours a day at the interstate exit in the nicer part of town. He took in a $150-$200 per day and lived in an apartment a half mile away. Begging was his career.

i used to be a squatter.

a dog is a GREAT companion. they have NO trouble finding food, or eating things a human wouldnt dare. dogs are animals. trust me, they are not "miserable" living outdoors.

usually, the dogs that are picked up are strays anyway.

RE: SSJTWIZTA's post

That was my first thought when I read Braisler's objection. Being a homeless dog isn't be as good as being a dog in a proper home, but it sure beats being a stray. At least the dog has a source of companionship, even if they still don't have a reliable source of food.

I don't think most people understand what its like to be homeless, and although I agree that manipulating people's emotions is generally a bad thing, I'm quite reluctant to criticise something I don't fully understand. I don't have any experience whatsoever with this sort of living, and I think we should listen to SSJTWIZTA because he has.

Also, perhaps this fellow NEEDS his canine companion to avoid going insane. Perhaps taking care of his dog helps him to avoid loosing all hope. Keeping a dog might just be a ploy for sympathy, or it might be something a little more meaningful. We can't tell from these pictures.

In summary: homeless people keeping a dog is better for the dog than being a stray, and probably good for the homeless person, so I'm not going to object.

The problem is the distribution of wealth to ameliorate their living conditions not whether or not he has a dog. People don't have homelessness as a life ambition. Let's do what we can to help.