Posted on 02/17/2014 7:56:56 PM PST by jespasinthru
Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day. I walked out of a WalMart in St. Petersburg, Florida, and I was confronted by a pandhandler. An elderly white gentleman in his mid-60's, neatly dressed and clean-shaven. And he had this cute little doggie on a leash. His spiel was that he only got 500 dollars a month in Social Security, and most of it went for the rent of his kitchenette apartment. He could just barely afford to feed himself. He couldn't afford dog food, so he was panhandling just to get some change to feed his dog. And that little doggie was an expert hustler. He looked like a cross between a chihuahua and a beagle. He had big pointy ears, and one of his ears was crooked. And that little deformity just added to his cuteness. He walked up to me with a big smile on his face, wagging his tail, asking to be petted. I gave that man five dollars, and he said "God bless you." As I was walking to my car, I saw him talking to a lady who was obviously a tourist (you can tell them from the locals). Not only did she give him money, but she went to the vending machine and bought a bottle of water for him to give to that adorable little doggie because she thought he was thirsty. That dog had great people skills. I'll bet that man made a couple of hundred dollars that day.
Link?
He's eligible for $190 a month in food stamps. Good spiel, though.
I’ve seen that trick before. All I can say is if they cant afford to take care of themselves, why keep a dog?
After several trips to the dog pound, I finally found a dog that most people can’t seem to resist.
Just the other night on our local news, they had an emotional story about a woman and her children (no father around, of course) who needed help for the basics of life. I noticed they had 3 dogs in their apartment. I thought - how much does it cost to keep 3 dogs?
http://www.gladesinitiative.org/downloads/7.12.10/SNAPUpdates.pdf
You think “mid 60’s” is elderly?
Gads! You would probably label me as ancient!
Maybe the dog was his best friend before they fell on hard times. And when they started shooting bad, the doggie was up to the game.
I guess me too.
Sad to say, but the typical panhandler is a drug addict looking for cash for drugs.
Yes, there are drug addicts that are old (or look old).
LOL
In this case, I think you will just have to take jespasinthru's word for it.
QED.
Link?? This happened to me yesterday. It ain’t nowhere but here. But you can steal it and spread it around if you want to. After all, plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.
Perhaps because the owner has compassion and the dog may be his only friend.
A lot of homeless people in the Long Beach CA area keep dogs and cats because a-holes dump their pets along the riverbeds and freeways. People I know will often drop off pet food for them and I carry extra leashes and collars in my vehicle in case they need one.
The woman was jerking us around. Dogs require food and shots and occasional vet visits. She had the money for three dogs....she had money for the "basics of life." Food is CHEAP in this country, especially if one buys in bulk.
This country doesn't know REAL poverty. Our poorest of our poor are BETTER OFF than the "middle class" of most third world countries.
My husband and I lived in the middle east and we saw poverty in India, China and Africa.
I saw it in Mexico when I lived there for two years. I left Mexico finally because of the four P's: poverty, pollution, politicians and police. No place like HOME.
No dog pic, no peace.
I’ve gotten a similar spiel, albeit this guy dressed down and out and had the dog on a cord. He basically says he has to sell his dog he is so down on his luck and do you want to buy him?
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