Dog Tricks, $1

The main street by my campus is known for two things. Cool spots to shop, eat, and drink. And homeless people begging.

I think a lot of us share a common story with how we respond to walking by a homeless person (in the States) waving their coffee mug of coins or their cardboard box with a few sparse dollars. We approach, divert eye contact, and keep walking; often times feeling slightly guilty, but more comfortable with the guilt than the idea of giving money to a strange person that might use it in strange ways. We all know the stories of the beggars that use the money to go buy alcohol, the scams for bus money to visit sick relatives that probably aren't actually sick. Certainly there are a VAST NUMBER of tough life stories that are actually true, of which we may reserve our own opinions about whether situations could have been avoided or handled differently, maybe even with some extrapolation to our political stances and general philosophy on why the world is as it is.


Yadha, yadha, yadha.


So I was walking down the street today and saw a man on a bench with a sweet looking golden retriever lying next to him. Next to the dog was a sign that read "Dog tricks, $1"

How very interesting.

I immediately went through a flood of thoughts and emotions trying to determine what my reaction to this was. My first thought, as I glanced back over my shoulder at the dog, was oh that poor, poor dog taken into possession of his master entirely to serve his master. Like a circus animal (I always threw a FIT about going to the circus as a kid because it made me too sad to see the animals make ridiculous displays of themselves. Not that I was an over-sensitive child or anything...). I also recognized that the dog was probably safer with this guy than roaming the streets and probably quite well fed by passers by.

And then I smirked a little. At this little piece of human behavior that this homeless person (and many others) had picked up on. I doubt many people that pay their $1 to watch the dog trick are actually looking for amusement from watching a dog roll over or sit on command. More likely, that dog, and the owner responsible for the dog whom it's life depends upon, is probably the source of much sympathy.

OF COURSE we feel sorry for the dog, it's in a helpless and desperate situation. And it's a dog, it's sweet and cute, and we cannot judge it for its life choices.

And yet our sympathies for the homeless owner are often mixed, conflicted, if not confused in the complicated mess of how we feel about ourselves, others, our society, etc. And so, this man had figured out that his best shot at inciting money from his peers is to turn attention to the dog. People might not help him. But people will help the dog.

What does that say? What does that mean?