Leslie Irvine, “My Dog Always Eats First: Homeless People and their Animals” (Lynne Rienner, 2013)

New Books in Sociology · Mar 11, 2014 · 41m

Homelessness and stigma go hand in hand, and nowhere is this more apparent than pet ownership among the homeless. From nasty looks to outright insults – ” you can’t even take care of yourself, you have no business having a dog!” – homeless pet owners use a variety of strategies to deal with the constant judgment. In My Dog Always Eats First: Homeless People and their Animals (Lynne Rienner, 2013), Leslie Irvine describes these strategies as she interviews dozens of homeless people on their relationship with their pets. Her findings are sometimes surprising, especially when it comes to the…