TIM HINE, 56, and his dog Jessica used to call the streets of Sydney home. For 2½ years the pair slept rough under bridges, on park benches or in alleyways. Hine and Jessica would bed down wherever they could be together.
''It's impossible to find accommodation in Sydney if you're homeless with a dog, so I would sleep anywhere I could be with my dog,'' says Hine, who now has a flat in Woolloomooloo.
''On the street it's all about a fight for survival, and having a dog by your side takes you out of yourself and gives you someone to care about. If you've got a dog with you, then you're at home wherever you go.''
There are an estimated 30,000 homeless people in NSW. Human and welfare agencies widely attest that homeless people will go without food so their pet can eat, or refuse services if their pet cannot be accommodated.
RSPCA NSW is out to change that with the launch yesterday of a new program - Living Ruff - which will assist homeless people in caring for their pets. Fiona Millhouse, the special programs co-ordinator for the RSPCA, says help is long overdue.
''We believe both pets and people should have easy access to food,'' said Millhouse, who spent time sleeping rough last year with her two golden retrievers, Willow and Cedar, when she was made redundant from her job with National Parks.
''Our partner charities have agreed to distribute dog and cat food on our behalf. Hopefully this will ensure that neither pet nor owner goes hungry.''
In addition to providing pet food at homeless shelters such as the Exodus Foundation soup kitchens, the RSPCA will provide emergency boarding accommodation and veterinary care for pets, and education and outreach services for owners. But Millhouse says the long-term goal is more ambitious.
''We are working towards more crisis accommodation that will accept pets,'' she said. ''I know when I was living rough my dogs were everything to me; my emotional support, my comic relief. They got me through that period. Homeless people need to keep their pets by their side.''
The founder of the Exodus Foundation, Reverend Bill Crews says animals play a vital role in the life of a homeless person. ''A lot … have had bad emotional experiences with humans, and having a pet beside them keeps that loneliness at bay.''
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