>

A dog doesn’t have a chance of stealing my shit, killing me, or being high/drunk off their ass. I would love to give help like that to someone, but I also understand the risks. I’m not capable of taking that risk.
This is a friendly reminder to read our rules.
Remember, /r/Showerthoughts is for showerthoughts, not "thoughts had in the shower!"
(For an explanation of what a "showerthought" is, please read this page.)
Rule-breaking posts may result in bans. >

My parents brought in a lady who had accidentally burned down her apartment (fell asleep with a candle lit) when I was a kid. 
She brought her cat to live with us too, and I remember us spending a lot of time in the backyard listening to and talking about birds.
She died less than a year later from a combo of cancer and pneumonia, my parents later told me that she refused chemo treatment.
Overall, I think she was just grateful to have a safe space to spend the last little bit of her life. >

The amount of people who can afford a cat > the amount of people who can afford a fully grown human
Crazy huh >

I'd be very interested to see the math on this >

Cat = 10
Human = 20
20-10=10
Human is 100% more expensive. >

This made me laugh a lot harder than I think it probably should have >

I'm pleased it made you laugh; and also possibly a little insulted lol
Regardless, you can't deny the math checks out. >

r/TheyDidTheMath >

Happy cake day >

Thank you! >

You're welcome >

I actually did this once. Took in a guy, gave him a bed. Helped him get up on his feet. 
He's doing well now, has a place and got custody of his son. We're good mates. 
Homeless people are still people. >

Congrats. I’m glad it worked out. 
I helped out an old friend who was at risk of homelessness due to some (we didn’t know about) mental health issues. 
We got him in touch with social workers and a jobs program and a temporary housing program. 
Turns out he was taking the paperwork I helped him with and throwing it out in the bin out back instead of handing it in. He was convinced it was signing him up for organ harvesting or something. 
He made a huge mess, was really difficult to live with and after almost 3 months when I said he’d have to explore other options for where to stay, he called me a “little bitch” and stole $8k worth of electronics. 
Last I heard he had assaulted a social worker who tried to get him housing assistance and who had arranged mental health treatment options and was in an encampment and on some kind of drugs.
1/10 Definitely wouldn’t do again. >

Stray dogs don't have tenant's rights. >

Stray dogs also don’t steal $8K worth of electronics. >

Or call you lil bitch... cause I mean,  that was the worst part for me.  
... im Mr big bitch silly dog! >

I took in a homeless person once. I got robbed as a thank you. Animals don't pull that shit. >

When a stray dog bites you, you don’t get mad as that’s what dogs do >

I think stray dogs biting you is exactly why most people don’t take in stray dogs >

You don’t have to let ‘em in your house 
I took in a stray and they just lived in the yard >

Probably isn’t socially acceptable to move the homeless from the street to your yard though >

What about a reinforced soundproof basement with a steel door >

I’m calling the police.. >

No no no. It was just a social experiment! >

Oh, in that case, here's your Netflix documentary. >

Not against it. HOWEVER (The reason behind it not being popular could be)… strays, typically, don’t possess the mental health and drug difficulties someone adopting a homeless would probably encounter. Less potential issues to remedy. >

A lot of stray dogs do have severe mental health issues, but the ways we are allowed to handle - and get rid of - dogs are a lot more permissive. And as you say there’s less in their lives to take care of >

I work in a shelter. Outside the shelter are the homeless who enjoy homelessness. I use "enjoy" lightly, but then again, they never seek actual help. Some are foster kids who are aged out of foster care. That's the saddest situation because the only care they received was from the foster system, and now they are in a place where they have no one, and it quickly leads to addiction. >

That’s right, because adopting a stray cat or dog is much simpler than adopting a homeless person. 
Take in a stray animal, patch it up and let it get comfortable in a happy warm house filled with food and attention if they want it and the pet will likely warm up and if not just live with you like a demanding roommate. I have some cats that were abused and or starved before I got them, some days are a struggle but I have the tools to help them out. 
Take in a homeless person and discover why they are homeless, it’s not because someone threw them out of the house because they were allergic. They probably have mental health issues and or addictions issues. A can of tuna, space and a bit of time will not help, these folks need resources for addictions recovery, trauma therapy and a feasible way to find their own housing and a stable job. They also have to want to get better. This is on top of dealing with what can be extremely disruptive and destructive behaviour of the folks on myself and my family as they sort themselves out. 
The primary support network for people who are at risk of homelessness is family, then friends and finally a very imperfect community funded social support system. If you want to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness donate money to your local charities which are focused on this, vote for people who have feasible homeless mitigation ideas in their platform. Don’t vote for people who say there is an easy solution or that homeless people deserve it or it’s hopeless so why bother. >

Could not agree more. Most communities aren’t willing to tackle the root causes of homelessness. >

Most communities don't seem to even give a fuck. That mentality of 'they are homeless for a reason'...I have met some homeless people in Chicago though, that enjoy being homeless >

Everyone says its better to get a shelter dog. People who get shelter dogs are heros they say. But when i go to the women's shelter to find a girlfriend....
(Paraphrased kyle kinane) >

You can't own a person and have power of attorney over them and have them obey all your commands and give you all of their love and attention while having them be absolutely loyal to you. >

THANK YOU — I was in this thread looking for someone to be like ‘… because you can’t own a grown-ass human & control their every waking moment?’ >

That's cuz it's a coin flip.
50% chance of getting a friend for life.
50% chance of getting robbed or assaulted.
I'm as empathetic as the next guy, more so even...
But I don't like those odds. >

They tend to object when you take them to the vet for the spay/neuter, and their leash manners are terrible.  Makes it difficult to bond. >

The thought of letting a stranger live in my house makes me way too anxious, homeless or not. Can't trust someone I've never met. >

A minority of homeless people are violent bastards. It is a major reason why being homeless is so unpleasant. >

same is true for strays >

Stray cats are some of the most brutal animals I’ve seen
Some of the big males looking like they hit the gym daily >

Excuse me,,,,,I have had male ferals. In fact Wally is my favorite cat. He has been in a fight or two. He is also kind and gentle. Too old to neuter. There is no such thing as a brutal or bad cat.Just misunderstood. I never met a cat I didn’t love. I am the neighborhood cat lady!!! Yep the older woman surrounded by cats 24/7. >

I mean, the cost is pretty different. As is the space they take up. It’s pretty reasonable. Plus, it’d be weird to have a human as a pet >

Twilight Zone. “ Stopover in a Quiet Town”.1964. Two humans captured by aliens to be pets to a colossal little girl. >

Adopting a stray cat won't result in your TV being sold at the nearest pawn shop >

Stray pets won’t steal your valuables, leave needles on the floor, or assault you in a drunken rampage. >

Or make you pass out, only to awaken stripped to your underwear next to an alley. >

Dry specific >

It beats being wet and specific. >

I don't know anyone who had that happen, it's just a joke from someone I know irl. >

I’m sympathetic to the homeless, but taking one into your home is incredibly dangerous. The vast majority of homeless people in the US are either mentally ill or suffering addiction. It’s the government’s job to help them, not common citizens. >

The SAMHSA disagrees based on their factual findings. They found that 30% had severe mental health issues and 50% had substance abuse issues. >

Not far off from what I said. Did you read the entire findings? 
It is a risk factor, and homelessness CAUSES both, so you're confounding variables. 
It is still not a significant cause of homelessness. Places with abundant affordable housing, that have the same rates of mental health and substance abuse issues have substantially lower rates of homelessness. >

The thing is, regardless of which factor causes the other, addiction and mental health issues will not just disappear the second you give someone a home. Therefore, they will be dealing with these things while they are in your house, which can be quite dangerous, especially if you do not know the extent of them >

Well adopting an animal is more popular than adopting a child. >

Let a homeless dude stay. He assaulted me in my own bed. F**ker. I am not traumatized. Just angry >

Fundamentally, our culture has become far more sensitized to dogs and animals than humans.
If you read 2 news stories where in one, a person was murdered and in the other, a dog was killed, people will aaaw all over the latter and never think twice about the death of a person. >

This is true. I will actually check first if the dog/cat/kid character will survive in the movie as I dont feel like bawling my eyes out.