{"id":2220,"date":"2017-02-08T16:26:42","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T16:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/?p=2220"},"modified":"2019-08-19T11:05:52","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T10:05:52","slug":"the-role-of-animal-companions-in-the-lives-of-the-homeless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/the-role-of-animal-companions-in-the-lives-of-the-homeless\/","title":{"rendered":"The role of animal companions in the lives of the homeless"},"content":{"rendered":"

New research from Professor Helen Carr argues that by understanding the caring relationships between homeless people and their pets we could reframe how we think about them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Published as \u2018Caring at the Borders of the Human: Companion animals and the homeless\u2019 in the book ReValuing Care: Cycles and Connections<\/em> (Routledge) <\/i><\/a>, Professor Helen Carr<\/a>\u2019s research also reveals that homeless people often show a collective\u00a0responsibility for the pets and, because of the close relationship between the pet and the homeless person, a collective responsibility for homelessness itself.<\/p>\n

The story of homeless people and their animal companions is recognisable from many towns and cities worldwide. It was also recently brought to light in James Bowen\u2019s bestselling book, and its cinema adaptation, A Street Cat named Bob.<\/em><\/p>\n

Professor Carr of Kent Law School refers to the book within her chapter, noting the similarities between the story and face-to-face research among homeless people, many of whom described their animals as\u00a0life changers and life savers, with some formerly homeless people claiming that it is their pet that keeps them alive.<\/p>\n

Professor Carr also argues that there is more to be said about the power of animals in relation to homeless people. For instance, she suggests that the donations of food provided by domiciled people to homeless people can be understood as political because it demonstrates sympathy with another species and because it suggests that we all share responsibility for the situation that homeless people find themselves in.<\/p>\n

Professor Carr\u2019s chapter, \u2018Caring at the Borders of the Human: Companion animals and the homeless\u2019 can be found in ReValuing Care: Cycles and Connections, <\/em>edited by Harding, Fletcher & Beasley, published by Routledge.<\/p>\n

Image credit: Homeless Sales<\/a> by Fran Urbano<\/a> CC BY 2.0<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n