Poverty impacts nearly every aspect of a person’s life, but the impact it has on pet owners and their animal companions is among the most devastating.
“There is no reason to believe those living in persistent poverty (or facing temporary financial hardship) are any less committed to their pets.”
Eighty-five million U.S. households have at least one pet, according to the 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association. Pet ownership provides several benefits for physical and mental health, such as increased opportunities for exercise and reduced feelings of loneliness. But there’s a cultural stigma attached to people with low and limited incomes owning pets.
In general, people enduring poverty are criticized for what they wear, what they eat, and how they live. An infamous example of this came from Senator Charles Grassley, Republican of Iowa, when he railed against the estate tax as punishing wealthy families, as opposed to “those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies.” Or, of course, pets.
Grassley later claimed that his words were misinterpreted, but his callous characterization of low-income Americans as being irresponsible was loud and clear. The conservative orthodoxy of “belt-tightening” helps perpetuate the false narrative that people experiencing poverty are not only unable to care for pets, but they are somehow undeserving and unworthy of doing so.
“We have learned that people who are financially disadvantaged do not love their pets any less than those with more wealth,” a spokesperson for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) tells The Progressive in an email. “There is no reason to believe those living in persistent poverty (or facing temporary financial hardship) are any less committed to their pets.”
According to the ASPCA, the cost of pet food and medical care are two of the biggest reasons that people surrender pets to shelters. It’s a painful experience to lose a pet due to old age and other natural causes, but it’s even more traumatic when the pet has to be surrendered or “put to sleep” because one can’t afford to take care of them any longer.
For the past eighteen months, local and national eviction moratoriums have provided a temporary reprieve to struggling pet owners. But with the CDC’s thirty-day extension of the federal moratorium set to expire at the end of July, the impending housing crisis will create severe challenges for millions of people and their pets.
Approximately 19.2 million dogs and cats live in households that are behind on their rent or mortgage payments, according to pets-in-housing estimates released by ASPCA last December. “We are going to have more and more cases because homelessness is going to increase,” says Genevieve Frederick, founder and president of the nonprofit Feeding Pets of the Homeless (also known as Pets of the Homeless). “It’s probably going to have a trickle effect all through the country.” The group is fielding calls from people “expecting to be evicted.”
Frederick believes “We’re going to see a lot of foreclosures, we’re going to see a lot of people on the streets. That’s going to be our next big challenge.”
The pet owners who face the most discrimination are those who are experiencing homelessness.
“People who have a problem with homeless people owning pets don’t understand that human-animal bond, and the comfort these animals are giving people,” Frederick says. “Animals know when they’re needed. They know they need them for protection, for warmth. They’re non-judgmental. These dogs, these cats, may not have a roof over their head, but their human becomes their home.”
Millions of Americans are still struggling in the current economy, regardless of optimistic forecasts. More people now recognize that they, too, are susceptible to having their lives turned upside down by unforeseen circumstances.
“People are looking around, talking to their family and friends, and they’re seeing more homeless people on the streets,” Frederick says. “Cities and local governments are realizing that homelessness is an epidemic of its own.”
Poverty is not just “a state of mind,” as former Trump Administration Cabinet member Ben Carson claimed. It is a reality thrust on people by circumstances beyond their control. Social attitudes condemning poor people for owning pets reflect the values of an inhumane economic and political system, which unjustly punishes both humans and their pets because of their financial circumstances.