S.P. is cold, shaking from the late night San Francisco fog and its piercing winds. She looks to her right and sees Walter Watkins, half perched up against a tree, shivering just as much as she is. S.P., short for Skinny Puppy, crawls into Watkins coat. At this point he knows he couldn’t survive without her.

Living on the streets of San Francisco, with no shelter, little food, and being judged by every person walking by, can change a homeless person into a hopeless person. Having something to keep you warm on a cold Northern California night is a blessing. Having a dog to not only warm you on the outside, but also warm your soul is a gift to be treasured.

Dogs bring many things to their owners. A dog is not just something to keep a person company; they offer a form of protection and comfort. Many people consider homeless people with pets as being cruel to animals. Some however, understand the importance of these animals and have formed organizations in hopes of preserving that bond
It is a cold December day in Carson City, Nevada. Genevieve Frederick has just launched her new organization Pets of Homeless. This organization creates a bridge between veterinarians and soup kitchens in order to feed pets of homeless people. She cannot believe that what started as a late night dream has actually taken form.
Frederick started out in public relations working for a veterinary clinic in Carson City. She realized that while attending veterinary school, students only learn about medicine, not how to promote their company. With the need for her public relations services rising, Frederick decided that there was something better she can do with her talents.

“I was walking around Carson and I noticed people with dogs begging for food,” says Frederick. “I needed to feed those animals. I help veterinarians get their names out in the public, all the while I am feeding those homeless animals.”

This project is important to Frederick because she has a passion for animals and also for people who are less fortunate.

“For some of those people living on the streets, their little animal is the only friend they have,” says Frederick. “Not only do they offer love, but also warmth and protection as well.”

The payoff for Frederick has been all the support she has received. Sitting in her office she receives calls from coalitions wanting to join her cause, as well as from individuals wanting to give money. However, the only way this program can truly succeed is if more veterinarians sign up, and people donate food to their local drop station. The Pets of Homeless are partners with the San Francisco SPCA, which helps the homeless receive free spay or neutering procedures for their pets through donations.

But in order to receive free spay or neutering, homeless people must call to make an appointment or stop in. However, many homeless people don’t have enough money for a phone call or transportation to get to the clinic just to make an appointment.

“We need food,” says Mike Solomon, owner of Buddy, a four-year-old lab mix. “I have never heard of those organizations, and no one comes to give us dog food.”

It is a warm day in Golden Gate Park where Solomon and a group of six of his friends, all homeless, are sitting under a Janis tree. Athia, a black lab mix, and Buddy, are playing while Solomon holds on to both leashes, trying to keep them under control.

“She is so much a part of my family now,” says Solomon, referring to Athia, who he got from a friend four years earlier when times were better. “She likes living in the park and she is treated better than most people around here.”

Buddy comes into Solomon’s life in a very different way.

“Two weeks ago we were in Monterey and we were run out by the cops,” says Solomon. “That’s when Buddy’s owner was arrested. We moved on to Santa Cruz and were run out of there, so now we’re here, waiting for him to get out of jail. If we don’t watch after Buddy, they will take him to doggy jail.”

While the group of free-loving twenty-somethings sits under the Janis tree, they make friends with everyone who walks by. Dog owners taking a stroll along the paved path stop and let their dogs play. Being a pet owner becomes the common link between homeless people and non-homeless people.

A black puppy of four months comes strolling over, and Athia and Buddy stake their claim on the group. All is settled though when his owner Dan calls the puppy, Jericho, back.

“I came across Jericho in Portland,” says Dan, who has been homeless since he came to San Francisco a few months ago. “He was newborn and I have had him with me ever since. He stays with me all the time, and at night I try to sneak him into whatever motel I may be staying at.”

Being homeless leaves Walter Watkins in no position to take on a new pet, but when his girlfriend’s landlord says she can no longer keep the dog at her apartment, he feels that there is nothing else to do.

“She thinks she is a lap dog,” Watkins says about S.P. “Usually she curls up in my jacket and falls asleep. She would rather be dragged than walked and she is something to give me meaning.”

S.P. stands there, peering out into the vastness of Golden Gate Park. The bike she is tied to is preventing her from straying. From afar, Watkins keeps his eye on her, careful to not let her out of his sight for too long. It would be too painful for him to look up one day and not see her there.