Let’s Talk New Mexico, 12/4/25, 8am: Do you think it’s a problem when unhoused folks have pets? Perhaps they cannot afford the best food or vet care that those companion animals need, or the pets might be in unsafe environments? Some may have lost their homes while they had pets and cannot bear to part with them. It’s actually a complicated situation.
Some veterinarians say unhoused people tend to have very happy pets, even when caring for a pet can add complications to an already stressful life situation. The ASPCA says about half of unhoused people have been turned away from shelters that will not take them in because of their animals. The challenge of finding a safe place to keep a pet extends into the daytime in places like Santa Fe, where a proposed ordinance would criminalize having a pet on a street median – a place where many unhoused folks make a meager living.
On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico we’ll discuss pets who live outside with their people and we’d like to hear from you. Do pets need a home to be safe and healthy? Should unhoused people face different scrutiny than others when it comes to their animals’ welfare? Should local governments intervene with unhoused pets? Email letstalk@kunm.org, leave a voice message by clicking the link above, or call in live at (505) 277-5866 Thursday morning at 8.
