The Pet Paradox: Uncovering the Role of Animal Companions During the Serious Health Events of People Experiencing Homelessness

ABSTRACT

Despite the prevalence of animal companions in the lives of homeless individuals and the established benefits and complications offered by animals during serious illness and end-of-life (EOL), little is known about the experiences of homeless people who have animal companions and chronic illness. Two subsamples from a larger study – longitudinal medical documentation of homeless palliative-care patients who discussed animal companionship during their care (n = 11) and interviews with cross-sector service providers (n = 3) who spoke to the role of animals in care – were analyzed using an interpretive description approach. Results showcased three major themes: (1) healing benefits to animal companionship during concurrent homelessness and serious illness; (2) choosing animal companionship over formal housing and health services; (3) when animal companionship’s consequences outweigh the benefits. These findings provide practical implications for clinical assessment, programing, and service expansion for persons with animal companions and future translational science to benefit animal companion owners experiencing serious illnesses while homeless.

KEYWORDS:

• Companion animal
• homeless
• hospice care
• human–animal interaction
• palliative care

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.