"I've often heard complaints about homeless people wasting money by keeping dogs as pets."

OFTEN?!

For ****'s sake--what is WRONG with people?

As a vegan, I don't keep pets myself, unless you count the ants in the compost heap, but how can anyone begrudge someone who has nothing a few cans of dog food?

It reminds me of Nathan's rebuke to David about Uriah the Hittite and Bathsheba.