From the BBC:
“Year of the Dog: Film shows
'lifeline' between homeless people and their dogs”
(Primal Scream's Simone Butler
challenges perceptions about the relationship between homeless people and their
dogs in the documentary Year of the Dog)
When Primal Scream bassist and
dog-lover Simone Butler went looking for a canine companion of her own two years
ago, she ended up finding out more than she could ever have imagined about the
relationship between mankind and its best friend. As part of her search, the
Soho Radio DJ and presenter interviewed Michelle Clark, who founded and runs
Dogs on the Streets (DOTS), a group of volunteers dedicated to the welfare of
dogs belonging to the UK's homeless community. Concerned about the often
negative perceptions about the relationship, Simone's heart-rending and
heartwarming new documentary, Year of the Dog, investigates whether it is fair
to have a dog when you are homeless. The answer, it's no spoiler to say, is a
resounding yes. "I went into the film with some degree of
preconception," Simone tells the BBC. "[But] I realised that the dogs
on the streets are so incredibly loved, they are always with their owners. "The
owners will feed the dogs before they feed themselves. "The street dogs
are incredibly well behaved and I never saw any aggression. Which is very
different from dogs that maybe stay in a lot or don't see their owners, and
then go out and go past one other dog in the street and there's a fight between
them," she adds. "The dogs on the streets are so socialised that that
never really happens."
'Reason for living' The hour-long film shows narrator Simone, Michelle and the other "amazing humans" who work for DOTS helping homeless people and their dogs, who may be in need of veterinary and/or administrative support. It also depicts what happens to the dogs, physically and emotionally, when their human guardians are suddenly no longer able to be with them. One recently rehoused man is heard declaring that he would be "dead or in jail" now if it wasn't for his dog. "We wanted to give people a more in-depth view of what it's like being on the street with a dog, and to delve into that relationship and that unconditional love," says Simone. "It doesn't change at all, just because someone doesn't have a roof over their head. In fact, it's a lifeline. It's a reason for living." Many of DOTS' clients, Michelle explains, first became rough sleepers "because of the barriers out there with housing". Especially those whose domestic situations have recently changed. While having a dog does "widen the barrier" for them, in terms of quickly finding suitable accommodation again, the relationship gives them "routine, companionship and responsibility" as well as some semblance of control back, she adds.
'Isolated life'
(Simone alongside Roxanne from
DOTS at the charity's sanctuary, where dog Brindell lived for a while after her
owner was put in a safe house)
In the middle of filming Year of
the Dog, all sense of control was lost when Covid struck, with at least two
DOTS clients losing their lives to the virus. In order to help stop its spread,
the government launched its Everyone In initiative, which has provided more than
37,000 rough sleepers with a place to stay during the pandemic. Many hotels and
buildings that were suddenly out of action were used to house previously
homeless people. However, once the initial strict lockdown ended, these
buildings were needed again and many people found themselves back out on the
streets. According to the homeless charity Shelter, in August, fewer than one
in four homeless people housed via the scheme had moved into permanent
accommodation, though a spokeswoman for the government's Department for
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities told the BBC this week that 26,000 people
had done so. Michelle is keen to stress that local councils do still have the
power to accommodate anyone who is deemed to be at risk or vulnerable. But
rough sleepers, she points out, live "where there is society,
socialisation, public and space". "When you put these people into
emergency Covid [accommodation], they're placed in a room with four walls,
they're cut off from socialisation, they're cut off from routine. "They
still have their mental health [problems] and alcohol and drug addiction - if
they're going through that - and they're not accessing what they need to help
this. "So in effect, as much as it sounds crazy, I used to actually say
they were safer and better on the street because they live a very isolated life
anyway."
'Tell their truth'
(Simone met many homeless people
and their dogs in the documentary, like Gary and Lola pictured here)
Last month, Shelter warned that
the number of homeless people could surge this winter, because of the end of
Covid protections. Director Paul Sng, wants the new film to challenge the
stigmatisation and demonisation of homelessness people and their dogs. "There
are plenty of documentaries and plenty of reality shows that paint vulnerable
people in a not-so positive light, and paint them as victims, a drain on
society," he says. "So what we want to always make is something that
has a humanity, that's empathetic. "People can speak for themselves,"
he goes on. "You don't need to necessarily put words in their mouths, you
just need to provide a safe environment and an opportunity for them to tell
their truth." The film's dramatic opening scene shows an unsympathetic
member of the public engaging Simone and the DOTS team in a heated discussion,
questioning the charity's motives and the morality of homeless people having dogs.
While such incidents are quite rare, Michelle says, she admits the charity does
encounter more issues with rough sleepers who don't have dogs, asking why the
animals are taking up their resources. Many members of the public are
"very giving", she notes, particularly over the festive season, but
that can drop off in January. "Homelessness isn't just for
Christmas," says Michelle. "It's a bit like a dog. Homelessness is
365 days a year, 24/7. "January is actually the hardest month for our
rough sleeping community," she adds. "We find we are needed more then
to help lift them and support them. "Rough sleepers with dogs say,
'Everyone remembers the name of my dog, but they never remember the name of
me'. These people do matter, they're not invisible." While Simone threw
herself fully into the dog-umentary, she is still yet to find a dog to call her
own. Her band will belatedly mark the 30th anniversary of their album
Screamadelica this summer, with a string of live shows, so touring could make
it trickier. For now, she remains as the go-to dog-sitter for all her mates. "One
of my friends said, 'One day you have a dog, the next day you have a member of
the family you would die for'," she says. "I think that's true."
Year of the Dog is available to watch online from 10 January, via Amazon,
Google Play and iTunes.
^ This documentary seems very interesting.
I would like to see it. I love dogs and know little about the Homeless and
their dogs and would like to know more. ^
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