OUR SOCIETY
In 2023, I spent a year studying homelessness in San Angelo.
I worked for AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) with Concho Valley Community Action Agency, to conduct extensive research and develop an outline for best practices and potential solutions to the housing crisis – an issue estimated to affected at least 175 people on any given night in the city.
During outreach at what was then the city’s largest encampment, I watched a man receive a hot meal from a local church and immediately hand-feed it to his companion, a dog.
He didn’t hesitate or take a bite for himself, though he was likely hungry. His pet came first.
I’m no stranger to the human-animal bond or to the unique struggles of housing insecurity, but I had never witnessed that choice so starkly.
In that moment, something clicked and all the work I’d done in animal welfare and human services aligned, as the gap between them became clearer than ever.
That is when I realized I wanted to help bridge that gap.
We tend to treat animal welfare and human services as islands: one focused on the needs of pets, the other on those of people.
Both sectors do remarkable work, but when they operate in silos, we do a disservice to the people and the animals alike. Animal welfare and human services are deeply intertwined, and our approaches to care should reflect that relationship.
Why the Human-Animal Bond Matters in Crisis Care
To a person in crisis, a pet is more than just an animal. They’re a lifeline.
Companion animals can provide mental and physical health benefits. For trauma survivors, pets can be a primary source of comfort and consistency. For people experiencing homelessness, pets can offer a sense of safety, protection, and warmth.
This bond is undeniably special, but it becomes a barrier to services when agencies aren’t equipped to accommodate it. That’s when services fail. When victim services can’t house pets, survivors must choose between staying with an abuser or leaving their animal behind.
When local shelters offer no long-term pet-friendly options, people and animals sleep outside in all weather.
When low-income families struggle to afford pet food or veterinary care, animals suffer.
When housing policies demand high pet fees, and have breed and weight restrictions, pet owners face an impossible choice: surrender their pet or remain unsheltered.
When a city has limited capacity to provide pet care for people in need, individuals and entire families fall through the cracks.
Understanding the bond is only the first step. The real work comes when agencies recognize it and start building effective case management around it. Systems fall shortwhen access barriers are stronger than efforts to meet people where they are.
Systemic Barriers: Why Removing Them Matters
These barriers are an unfortunate reality for people in crisis, adding yet another hurdle to accessing services. Navigating these systems, it becomes clear that animals are frequently left out of service provider plans all together.
These aren’t just problems for pets. These barriers are issues of public health, housing stability, community safety, humanity, equity, and dignity.
Pet-related barriers directly reduce people’s ability to access shelter and supportive services. When pet-inclusive options are available, people are more willing to engage with service providers on an ongoing basis. Pet-inclusive policies shouldn’t be considered extras. They should be integrated at every step.
Stigma and Misconceptions
As a society, we often misunderstand people with pets in crisis. Common stereotypes suggest that if you’re homeless, you “shouldn’t have pets” or that “if you can’t afford a pet, you don’t deserve one,” but realistic, solutions-based thinking requires nuance and a deeper understanding of the impossible choices many homeless pet owners have to make.
Many demonstrate extraordinary responsibility and care despite the everyday hardships they face.
People in our own community have even taken in animals abandoned by others. This only serves as a testament to the sacred human-animal bond worth protecting.
Judgement from the public — and especially from service providers — can create additional barriers.
Who will want to seek help if they feel they’ll be judged, or have their needs dismissed?
Despite the challenges, progress is possible, and in San Angelo, we’ve already begun to see what that looks like.
Progress in Practice
When I start to lose faith in the systems, I look to the people.
I think of the man from the encampment – the one who chose to feed his dog rather than to eat the meal he’d just been given – and I remember that people will make great personal sacrifices for the animals they love.
That moment of compassion and companionship inspired me to act.
Starting With Data
To address the problem, we needed to understand its scope.
I counted the pets I encountered at the encampment that day – roughly 20. That afternoon, with my modest AmeriCorps living stipend, I bought enough kibble to feed 20 dogs and planned to hand it out at the next Homeless Navigation Day.
I quickly realized my approach needed adjusting. I couldn’t just hand out full bags of dog food to people who didn’t have a way to carry around or protect their belongings, so with the help of my team, I broke down 40-pound bags into small zip-top baggies – two per person, enough for about five meals. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
Listening and Responding
As people picked up food and talked with me about their pets, I asked what else they needed.
The answers came as quickly as the food flew off the shelf: veterinary care, spay and neuter surgeries, collars and leashes, flea and tick treatment, grooming supplies, and enrichment toys.
The list grew with every interaction. My small donation station, marked by my signature Big Blue Bag and a scrap of paper that read CVCAA: Limited Pet Supplies Here, was growing beyond what one person could manage.
We needed collaboration. We needed community.
So I went back to my research.
Building Infrastructure
That’s when I discovered Pets of the Homeless.
Their map of donation sites showed a few dots sprinkled in East Texas, but West Texas was empty.
I reached out, and together, we established the Feeding Pets of the Homeless donation site at Concho Valley Community Action Agency.
The community responded with waves of generous support, donating thousands of pounds of dog food over the next few months.
The site is still going strong, stocked with food, toys, leashes, collars, beds, and more.
Around that time, we also partnered with Concho Valley PAWS, who brought free spay and neuter services to the encampment for more than a dozen animals.
Homeless Navigation Days continued to grow, and more people started bringing their pets to the event. We adapted by making the space more pet-friendly: water bowls, outdoor potty breaks, and eventually a small grooming station staffed by volunteers.
A New Era of Collaboration
As our efforts have grown, so has the community’s response.
In recent years, many local agencies have stepped up to fill the gaps between services.
Local rescues offer spay and neuter vouchers. Trainers and advocates collaborate when pets are in crisis, sometimes even boarding pets temporarily while their owners are in treatment. The local rape crisis center started offering limited pet supplies to survivors of violence, recognizing that, in times of crisis, small things can make a big difference.
Local churches joined the effort too, adding pet food to community food distributions. The City of San Angelo Animal Services joined in, offering microchip scans, treats, and information, and PAWS became a regular participant.
During the recent winter storm, San Angelo Performing Arts Center stepped up to offer a pet-friendly emergency warming shelter. This was a remarkable example of community collaboration when it was needed most.
To further these efforts, this week, the Concho Valley Homeless Planning Coalition created its first pet care subcommittee.
The goal of the group is to bring together service providers and advocates to brainstorm solutions for pet owners in crisis.
There is still so much work to be done, but we have made great strides as a community. Together, we can fill in the gaps to keep families together.
How You Can Help Bridge the Gap
Tangible ways to help include:
- Volunteering at local human or animal-based service agencies
- Donating to the cause
- Advocating for policy change
- Educating others
- Supporting pet-inclusive programming
- Joining your local homeless planning coalition
- Leading with compassion and understanding
The journey to bridging the gap has been bumpy. It’s been messy and at times overwhelming. But if this experience has taught me anything, it’s this: A scrappy start is better than no start at all. Maybe you can’t donate. Maybe you don’t have time to volunteer. But there is always something you can do. And this work – keeping people and their pets together – is always worth doing.
Further reading:
Animal Services Work Takes Toll on Caregivers
Mike’s Night Out Can Only Show So Much
Grief From Pet Loss Often Overlooked
Community Offers Many Ways to Get Involved
Suggested reading: Not Without My Pet: Understanding the Relationship Between
Victims of Domestic Violence and Their Pets, By Andrew Campbell
Additional resources:
