Portland has earned a reputation for its high homeless population. Any day walking downtown you will see people sitting, begging with a tiny kitten or large dog. Now, I’m working off the assumption that these poor kids are actually homeless. Some will claim that many of the street kids in Portland are bored suburban teens who panhandle for extra change during the summer. I hope that this is the case. At least it opens up the possibility that both the kids and the pets are getting the care they need. However, for kids who are actually homeless, several things are disturbing:
1. You never see a street kid with a grown cat. Grown dogs, yes. WHERE DO THE CATS GO? This has aggravated me to no end. Do the kids get bored and just let loose the (most likely never neutered) cats? Do they end up as strays? Do they die from malnutrition or abuse? Does someone pick them up and take them to a shelter? Mr. Taco?
2. It takes a lot of money to properly care for an animal. Animals need food. Animals need to be wormed. Animals need to be vaccinated for rabies. It is not believable that the street animals in town are all of these things. Hell, most working people can’t really afford the time or money to properly keep a dog. If you buy an animal and are caught mistreating it, you will be subject to laws and fines. To get a shelter animal, you basically have to prove clean credit history, an acceptable amount of space, and plenty of time to care for the animal. But if you are homeless you get a pass?
3. There are laws about licensing animals. Animals can be very dangerous. They can bite and carry diseases. What do you think will happen when a loose animal bites someone and it has no license? The animal is taken away, and whoever “owns” it will get off without having to pay restitution to whoever was injured. Guess what happens to the animal then?
There obviously is a bigger picture here that is about keeping the kids off the streets as well. The innocents in this tragedy aren’t just the animals. But with all the laws and regulations to protect both the kids and their pets it is frustrating that neither are getting the care they need.
Things About Portland That Suck 
Dogs owned by street kids generally get MUCH better care than those that live in apartments/townhouses/houses/condos because the kids are with them 24/7 and it gets LONELY on the streets and having a companionship is a needed thing.They get their shots, most of them get fixed, and they are fed properly, and trained to behave. It just might not be as soon as someone that has a proper home, but they all get what is needed in the end and that’s a level of care and love that none of you will ever give them.
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I (unfortunatley) have a lot of personally experience in both these fields. I know a lot of street kids in the seattle area who came from good homes where there parents were more than willing to take care of them. it was THEIR choice to live on the street because they wanted to use drugs and be “cool” One person who i was pretty close friends with, his parents paid for him to go to rehab multiple times and just wanted to help. They would do anything to keep him at home and safe, but he just wanted to be an addict and fuck off and sell drugs. There was a pit bull I came across a few years back named bruiser and to this day I have a huge spot in my heart for him. He had a vest that was covering what seemed to be irritated or possibly infected/ rashed skin. I dont even know if they noticed it and he was somewhat malnourished. In my opinion and experience even if they have good intentions for having a pet (that is they dont have them to get extra panhandled money) they still cant care for it. The dog needs a safe place to sleep and eat and guaranteed food and water and you just CANT do that living on the street. There should really be more restrictions on them having animals for the sake of the animals.
If i was a dog I wouldn’t want to be cared for by a fucking tweaker.
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Portland homeless do not make anything near 40k/year, i know this firsthand
Actually there are a lot of homeless teens in Portland, when I was there staying with my cousin, thats all we did was go downtown everyday to experience the homeless we met a lot even with dogs and cats, it is true they are homeless however most are runaways and have a house, but cant due with rules, so they choose the streets.
I met a girl tonight. She was cute, a few months younger than me (22) and from an area of new york my father grew up in. We danced, shared a drink had a few smokes and kisses and then got to talking.
Lived in New York but from Portland and back for the summer time. Well, born in colorado and lived in oregon city for a few years before moving to new york. I asked if her dad was in the military “or something” like a dip shit.
“Dad? Never had one.” We sat close and I hugged her. She fell asleep in my arms. I had never felt so whole in my life. I told her I couldn’t let her leave without taking my number. She smiled and kissed me.
Then she half heartedly admitted to me she was homeless. Well her friend kind of blurted it out and then she had to admit it to me. I suddenly saw things in a whole new light. Little things became a big deal all of a sudden.
I tried to not let it change my opinion of her. I had loved everything about her up until then. I couldn’t wait to hang out with her again but now all her movements all her words were colored by that one piece of knowledge and I bailed.
I ducked out when she wasn’t paying attention. I was ashamed. I laughed about it to myself and tried to shred the whole relationship with a “I was so fucked up!” mentality. Tried to pawn her off as a drunken mistake like so many women had done to me. But this was different. I really liked her, I just didn’t like a certain fact about her.
I was ashamed that I couldn’t own up to the fact. I couldn’t be a man with the would be whispers of friends in my ear. I let a good one get away.
When we talk abut homeless people we have to focus on the right word: people. I focused on the other one and it cost me somebody special.
I have to admit that I definitely think a little less of someone who is homeless. I know that is wrong. Here is the kicker. Starting tomorrow I am going to be homeless. I am in early 40s, have not been without food or shelter ever before, came from a middle-upper class setting and can’t believe this is happening. All it take is a check or two. I am on the opposite coast from help and too embarrassed to ask for it so …. yeah..
If anything good comes from this, and I am sure that a lot of good will come from it, it is that I will have a completely different perspective on those without shelter. They are you, they are me, the are your co-worker, they are your parents. Hard to believe this is happening. Oh well, just had to throw that out there.
I was at the SW Downtown Safeway last year and this stupid crust punk kid was smooshing the dog food onto the dogs face right on the corner, calling the dog stupid and throwing the dog food on the ground. I yelled across the street that she was a piece of shit but she could have cared less.
Mandatory animal health checks ala CHIERS and if the animal is found to not be taken care of, arrest crusty and take the animal away.
It’s amazing how ignorant most people are. Most streetkids are on the street because the one(s) who were supposed to care for and nurture them (ie. parents) while they were growing up did just the opposite. The majority of streetkids while they were living at home were abused physically, sexually and emotionally. Therefore most of them either ran away because their home life was so horrible or they were kicked out of the house.
When you are traumatized at a young age, you become emotionally stunted and do not mature past the age you were when the trauma began. So when you run away from home at age 13 or 14, you may only be 6 or 7 emotionally. Then a drug dealer takes you in and you think he’s going to take care of you, but instead he gets you addicted to crack or heroin. Now, in addition to the mental illnes you acquired from from the abuse of your “loving” parents, you are now also a junkie which will just add to your mental issues, even if you are fortunate enough to someday get clean and sober.
But in the meantime, you have to deal with life and death issues of living on the street with the mental capacity of a junior higher at best. In addition to all that, you get the privilege of dealing with the general public who just thinks you are a lazy no good bum who should just get a job. That’s if anyone even notices you at all.
And by the way, pets provide loyal companionship and are treated better than most housed peoples pets.
Some of that is true; the last part is definitely not.
Kids on the street are often pet hoarders, and they steal them because they want something (protection, a companion, or just having something) and because they are emotionally stunted they don’t know how to treat the animals humanely.
When I got my stolen dog back from a street girl who had TRADED HER DOG FOR MINE with another street girl (the latter street girl had five stolen dogs around town), she started pissing and shitting all over the sidewalk because she finally felt “at home” enough in my presence to defecate. They didn’t even have the sense to take her to the bathroom. They stole her rabies tags to “legitimize” the other pets they had stolen. My dog always eats, and she wouldn’t eat for three days after I got her home, and instead vomited up nothing. For about a month whenever I went outside or left a room and she didn’t know where I was, she cried, and she had never done that before, either.
Street animals do NOT get treated better than house pets. Sometimes they get treated the same as some house pets (fed crap they aren’t supposed to eat, spoiled) and I would venture to say there are rare cases where street animals have a knowledgeable, loving owner that treats them better than your average house dog, but it is absolutely ludicrous to say that they are treated better than most people’s housed pets. Maybe they are treated with about the same level of ignorance, maybe different kinds of ignorance, but I’ve been out there canvassing and seen how the pets get treated and it’s just not fucking true that most street pets are cared for better than housed pets. However, I have seen quite a few cases of house pets getting the wrong end of the stick, so to speak, with regards to proper feeding, proper discipline, proper exercise, etc. In general, most people don’t take the time to know how to treat their animals properly and then follow through with that, and I think it’s worse on the street.
acgyp,
Take it from somebody who knows, theirs a plethora of welfare & housing programs readily available that enable homeless people who are seeking decent living conditions;both federal and stateside entities include the Salvation Army, Emergency food & Shelter Program, .ect. I’ve volunteered at most of our local homeless shelters/wellness programs, and the consensus is that theirs a lack of general accountability for the individual by their respective program counselors, essentially leaving them[the homeless] to their own devices(homeless). With all of the outstanding resources available, the responsibility inevitably lies within the homeless community to fend for itself. The fact that all of these programs are free of charge and supplemented by OUR tax dollars is outrageous, considering its only proven to be a band-aid on an incessant problem. Therefore, i refuse to lend my hard earned money to a total stranger, not out of contempt for that person, but rather principle. I may be old school, but I come from the school of thought that merits an individuals initiative to progress and succeed.
By the way, do you hold a degree or Ph.D. of any sort? because the psychobabble, pseudo-logic you just kicked is so overbooked with hasty generalizations and down-right fallacies. As a product of a volatile household, i held myself down until my mother was murdered right in front of me at the age of 16. I’ve been through the state department and their friends, thousands of hours of therapy and medication. Eventually I settled down with my grandma up until she died two years ago, relinquishing the only motherly figures in my life. I am now 24, pursuing my Ph.D. in developmental psychology, and never allowing that fateful day define me. I’ll readily admit experiencing a fluctuating period of social dissolution in the accompanying years, but I’m still standing. Now, how do you explain that?
Point being, everbody’s got their own issues to resolve, some catch on quicker than others. If the individuals actively seeking help, then he’s already on the path to recovery. I
acgyp,
Take it from somebody who knows, theirs a plethora of welfare & housing programs readily available that enable homeless people who are seeking decent living conditions;both federal and stateside entities include the Salvation Army, Emergency food & Shelter Program, Union Gospel.ect. I’ve volunteered at most of our local homeless shelters/wellness programs, and the consensus is that theirs a lack of general accountability for the individual by their respective program counselors, essentially leaving them[the homeless] to their own devices(homeless). With all of the outstanding resources available, the responsibility inevitably lies within the homeless community to fend for itself. The fact that all of these programs are free of charge and supplemented by OUR tax dollars is outrageous, considering they’re only proven to be a band-aid on an incessant problem. Therefore, i refuse to lend my hard earned money to a total stranger, not out of contempt for that person, but rather principle. I may be old school, but I come from the school of thought that merits an individuals initiative to progress and prevail.
By the way, do you hold a degree or Ph.D. of any sort? because the psychobabble, pseudo-logic you just kicked is so overbooked with hasty generalizations and down-right fallacies. As a product of a volatile household, i held myself down until my mother was murdered right in front of me at the age of 16. I’ve been through the state department and their friends, thousands of hours of therapy and medication. Eventually I settled down with my grandma up until she died two years ago, relinquishing the only motherly figures in my life. I am now 24, pursuing my Ph.D. in developmental psychology, and never allowing that fateful day define me. I’ll readily admit experiencing a fluctuating period of social dissolution in the accompanying years, but I’m still standing. Now, how do you explain that?
Point being, everbody’s got their own issues to resolve, some catch on quicker than others. If the individuals actively seeking help, then he’s already on the path to recovery. I
acgyp,
Take it from somebody who knows, theirs a plethora of welfare & housing programs readily available that enable homeless people who are seeking decent living conditions;both federal and stateside entities include the Salvation Army, Emergency food & Shelter Program, Union Gospel.ect. I’ve volunteered at most of our local homeless shelters/wellness programs, and the consensus is that theirs a lack of general accountability for the individual by their respective program counselors, essentially leaving them[the homeless] to their own devices(homeless). With all of the outstanding resources available, the responsibility inevitably lies within the homeless community to fend for itself. The fact that all of these programs are free of charge and supplemented by OUR tax dollars is outrageous, considering they’re only proven to be a band-aid on an incessant problem. Therefore, i refuse to lend my hard earned money to a total stranger, not out of contempt for that person, but rather principle. I may be old school, but I come from the school of thought that merits an individuals initiative to progress and prevail.
By the way, do you hold a degree or Ph.D. of any sort? because the psychobabble, pseudo-logic you just kicked is so overbooked with hasty generalizations and down-right fallacies. As a product of a volatile household, i held myself down until my mother was murdered right in front of me at the age of 16. I’ve been through the state department and their friends, thousands of hours of therapy and medication. Eventually I settled down with my grandma up until she died two years ago, relinquishing the only motherly figures in my life. I am now 24, pursuing my Ph.D. in developmental psychology, and never allowing that fateful day define me. I’ll readily admit experiencing a fluctuating period of social dissolution in the accompanying years, but I’m still standing. Now, how do you explain that?
Point being, everbody’s got their own issues to resolve, some catch on quicker than others.
I do not know about the emotional maturity of street kids but the emotional maturity of Portlanders who live in big houses and have nice cars is about 12.
That includes both the absentee, irresponsible, foul-mouthed, useless parent and their vandalizing, harassing, stealing, trespassing kids.
You do not have to be homeless to be a mess of a teenager.
If the ‘street kids’ weren’t taking care of those animals Portland Animal Services would ‘take care’ of them once and for all.
Is life so good hat this really distresses you?
How pointless and vapid is *your* life?
Really? I’ve called Portland Animal Services, and they can’t really do squat to take dogs in anymore. Do your research or forever live a life of making the effort to sound informed, but actually espousing idiocy through ignorant statements, about things you apparently don’t care about…
We must protect the dog,because the dog are friends that we trusted the most. I enjoyed reading your blog,thanks for visiting my blog also.
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Housies really are pretty ignorant, huh. Dogs don’t need all the shit you people seem to think is necessary. The difference between a street kid with a dog and a housie with a dog is that the housie pays someone to take care of the dog, while a street kid will learn to fuckin’ do it him/herself.
Dogs are useful, yes while spanging, but also while on the road as a sort of alarm when bunking down, some train theirs to perform various tasks, they assist with hunting (for the hard core), and they’re cute.
I doubt very much that a dog will mind being ‘homeless’. Dogs, cats, human, what have you are, rather obviously, acclimated to living outside. It’s natural, baby!
As for people making 40,000USD a year spanging… schweet! Unfortunately, I suck at spanging. No patience. I mime instead, though that never makes any money either.
“Housies”? Seriously?
The dog is a sympathy tool. They figure people will give them money if they see they have a dog.
63% of homeless youths were physically and/or sexually abused. 25% of homeless youths were misplaced within, or have aged out of, the foster care system. 6% of homeless youths were kicked out of their homes when their parents discovered they were gay. 3% of homeless youths became homeless when their families lost their homes, (family shelters often refuse children over the age of 12). That leaves a whopping 3% of the 1.7 million kids that experience homelessness annually with the luxury of “choosing homelessness”. (Statistics courtesy of the U.S. Govt.)
Dogs are companionship and protection. Is it the brightest thing in the world for a homeless kid to have a dog? No, probably not, but these are kids. They think like kids. They think like kids who have never actually had something to love.
It’s great that you care so much about the animals; I’m vegan, I care about animals too. But maybe, just maybe, the kids could do with some caring too. 2% of homeless youths access outreach organizations. For FY 2009, we’ll spend 515 billion dollars on our military and an additional 70 billion dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During that same time period, we’ll spend 1.6 billion aiding the homeless, with a focus on disabled adults with children, not the homeless kids on Portland’s streets. In 2007, 904 U.S. service members died fighting the wars. In 2007, nearly 5,000 homeless youths died from assault, illness and suicide. Why aren’t we spending more money on our kids?
You can sign up to sponsor a kid in Africa for $35/mo but the average American wouldn’t dream of giving a homeless youth shelter in Portland $35/mo. We’ll sponsor other countries’ kids, but not our own.
Before you criticize the kids for wanting something to love and that will love them in return, how about checking into the facts?
i was just discussing this issue with someone not long ago. i cannot describe my feelings as eloquently as some, but it breaks my heart. whether or not these kids choose to be homeless, they do not have the right to make an animal be homeless as well. yes, i am a sap. i give money to homeless when i can and i also feed the 5+ homeless cats in my neighborhood every night (plus some very hungry raccoons and possums., i digress). the money they get is either going to them or their animals, not both. either way, someone is going to go hungry. and cold. i understand everyone wants companionship, that is why i have always had pets. but seriously grow up, if you can take care of yourself leave your pets, kids, whatever OUT of it.
here in berkeley most of the street dogs are very happy, well balanced and well disciplined, more so than alot of housed up dogs i know. any abuse/neglect going on will be taken care of. living on the streets doesnt necessarily mean you cant take care of yourself. the simple fact is streetkids learn to survive and you have to be self sufficient. yeah that might seem ironic with the spanging but try it. it takes skill. getting a job would be easier.
as for the money issue, why dont u give em a bag of dog food? you’re right, some of us do lack self control and planning.
just dont categorize and remember that bad examples stick out more in the human mind.
One thing of significance about street kids is that there is a large sect of these kids that do this as a means to keep going while they train hop.
I’ve been involved in the DIY music scene for a while. It’s really common to be at a house show and have a gaggle of train hoppers at a show that you saw downtown “spanging” (combo of the word spare and change) that afternoon. It’s a world I don’t think a lot of people know exist.
A lot of these kids are punks that simply pack up some gear and hop trains to major cities around the country. Some have no permanent address to go back to, some are trust fund kids that stopped showering and bought Doom records, some are junkies, some aren’t. In my experience, 99% of the kids I met are engaging in what I call “chosen homelessness.” They are choosing to be homeless and rely on the good spirit and guilt of people in order for them to get wasted and occasionally eat something. There’s a weird social status thing with these kids. They seem to enjoy out pooring one another. They tell stories about how tough it was to hop from Colorado to Oregon in the winter, and how little they ate and struggled. Yet they chose to do this. They didn’t come out here to find jobs. They chose to be hungry. It’s fucking stupid.
And of course, a lot of these kids have dogs for companionship and protection. I concur, it’s not cool. Period. If you’re that scared that you’re going to be attacked, learn kung fu. Don’t bring a dog into your stupid world.
A good portion of the street kids are actually drug dealers BTW. I uh… know a “friend” who has experience.
One time a street kid tried to bum some change off me and I was already late for work.
I told him to lean real close and fuck his own face.
He told me needed some money for his pooch. I kicked his dog in the head and poured hot coffee on his head.
I’m a land farmer motha fucka.
Street kids have begged me for money for food for their dogs before and if I have any spare change I usually go inside a store and buy a can or 2 of dog food and I carry a army issed P-38 can opener
I’ll open the can and feed the dog and give them the other can then wish them well and leave
Now if they choose to eat the 2nd can that’s up to them but very rarely do they get a dime from me
At least the dog will have a meal
I don’t beleive that these are even their dogs, or else the dogs are theirs, but they are not really poor and struggling. Did you know homeless people can make up to $40,000 a year begging?! That is more than my dad made at his first law job.
Lovedogs4ever
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Not to mention they can use the dog as leverage in getting donations. Myself and most others seem inclined to donate to someone who has a dog rather than without in hopes that the pet will get proper care. Most of the times I doubt they are honestly using the money to go buy heartworm medication or food for them and that is a real tragedy, because those dogs have no choice.