Leslie Irvine, “My Dog Always Eats First: Homeless People and their Animals” (Lynne Rienner, 2013)

Homelessness and stigma go hand in hand, and nowhere is this more apparent than pet ownership among the homeless. From nasty looks to outright insults – ” you can’t even take care of yourself, you have no business having a dog!” – homeless pet owners use a variety of strategies to deal with the constant judgment. In My Dog Always Eats First: Homeless People and their Animals (Lynne Rienner, 2013), Leslie Irvine describes these strategies as she interviews dozens of homeless people on their relationship with their pets. Her findings are sometimes surprising, especially when it comes to the widespread belief that homeless people couldn’t possibly be responsible pet owners – a belief not backed up by reality. In this book, Irvine tries to discover what animals mean to the homeless people who “own” them. Much like those of us who have homes, the homeless are also deeply attached to their pets, considering them both family and their best friend, and going to great sacrifice to care for them (even giving up housing for themselves in the case that pets are not welcome). Through qualitative research, Irvine gives us a glimpse into how homeless people provide for both themselves and their pets, and shows us how despite our prejudices, homeless people’s pets often really do eat first.

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