Last night on my way home from work, there was a homeless guy at the intersection of 299 and the 87 Thruway exit. I was a few cars back waiting at a red light when I noticed him. He was youngish, maybe 24, kind of scruffy and held up a sign that said "Anything helps". He wasn't waiving it around, or being obnoxious like some homeless people I've encountered. He really just seemed down on his luck.
This guy had a dog. A black and white short haired shepard mix that was laying down with his head resting on the guys backpack. He was watching the traffic, but every few seconds he would look at his human, as if to check if he was still there. The guy would reach down, scratch him behind his ears, and the dogs tail would just thump on the ground in happiness.
I reached into my wallet, pulled out a $5. It wasn't much, but it was something. Yeah, the thought crossed my mind that he might be pulling a scam and spend it on drugs or alcohol, but I like to think that he wasn't. He and his dog needed that $5 more than I did. I did the same thing in Paris when we rounded a corner and saw a homeless guy with a dog who was nursing some puppies. I dropped a handful of euro in a hat that was next to the dog. I'm a sucker for a dog I guess.
Anway, As I'm sticking the $5 out the passengers window for him I notice the line of cars at the light. There is a Range Rover at light, a work-van, a beat-up Hyundai, a mini-van, new Accord, myself (in the '01 Jetta), and a BMW behind me. Guess who follows my lead....
Work-Van hands the guy a $20 & the Hyundai handed him a few dollars.
Kinda makes you think...
2 comments:
There's a few homeless guys out here with dogs; my rule with helping homeless people is never give them money -- so I've given them sandwiches, dogfood, granola bars, etc. Those who are truly down on their luck will be grateful -- and not surprisingly, some refuse anything other than money.
You do what you can...
I normally would have done that, but, being I had nothing of use to him in my car I went for the cash. It's just really sad to see them with dogs. Sometimes I think I'm terrible because I'd rather help a homeless guy with a dog than when they are alone.
Post a Comment