Too Poor for Pets

Those of us in the trenches with people in poverty continually think of ways to get our nation's leaders and lawmakers to pay attention. We don't want to think they just don't care; they're just, um, busy.  How can we get their attention?  If only poverty was...cuter?  Let me throw out a few provocative poverty bones to chew on:

• Pets. Millions of pet owners in America can't afford to care for their furry friends. Yeah, feeding them and the basic veterinary activities is expensive, but what gets way out of whack is when Fido or Fluffy gets sick. One of my dog-friends, Elijah, is having some serious budget-busting health issues. At the moment, his owner can come up with payments, but not for long term. Tough spot to be in. I dunno, maybe we can use pet health care as a campaign, and then segue into human health care.
• Pet Health Insurance-you gotta know the insurance agencies are all over this cash cow. September is National Pet Health Insurance month.
• Numbers tell the story--the number of Change.org Animal Rights members is 3X the PIA members. My solution--give the homeless and poor people pets! Better yet, get more PIA members.

In all seriousness, homelessness, my issue of choice, needs to be seen as a poverty crisis, not just a "bum under the bridge" problem. It's a national concern, not just urban in nature, that affects more kids/families than single adults. And readers with a strong memory can quote me on this a year from now... I'm betting my lunch money that those on the edge of poverty, or those mired in it, will be in worse shape before (if) things get better.  Kudos to NYT's Erik Eckholm and Arianna Huffington for their recent efforts to call attention to homeless kids!

Politics and poverty go hand-in-hand. Sadly, those in politics tend to know very little about the hurt of poverty (and less about homelessness). Policymakers are probably happy that few pay much attention to this growing issue. Watch out for the HEAR US Learning Curve Express!!

photos by the author