As a relative newcomer here, I'm going to wade into these murky waters with trepidation, but here goes:

I hope Bonzo will correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt very much that the outlay for Tiara depleted any joint human-canine homeless fund, thereby reducing aid to people in dire need. I doubt that Bonzo's preference came as a surprise to anyone, and I feel it aids our understanding to have it out there explicitly.

Homeless people don't come from Planet Sainthood, any more than the rest of us do, and it would be dehumanizing to expect someone in great physical or mental pain and stress to slobber in gratitude over some casual, partial, and temporary alleviation of their suffering. So it's quite understandable that people whose help for others is linked to the expectation of gratitude would prefer to help a creature whose undying devotion can be acquired by placing a bowl of kibble on the floor.

That said, there is plenty of suffering in this world to go around, and anything anyone does to reduce it is worth what it merits, without comparisons. (I'm not crazy about nourishing obligatory carnivores, myself, but that's just me.) If someone's priorities are "odious," well, they are out there and characterize their owner perhaps more eloquently than any criticism can.