PDA

View Full Version : Food stamps for dogs




Anti Federalist
01-23-2018, 03:09 PM
So, it's not enough you hold a government gun to my head and force me to pay for your food and your children's food, but now I'm going to be on the hook for your dog's food as well.



Advocates make argument for extending food stamps to pets

http://bangordailynews.com/2018/01/23/news/nation/advocates-make-argument-for-extending-food-stamps-to-pets/

By Caitlin Dewey, Washington Post • January 23, 2018 12:37 pm

Handout | TNS | BDN

Groups say allowing food stamps to be used for pet food could potentially keep tens of thousands of animals out of shelters and prevent low-income people from cutting their pets’ meals.

Edward Johnston Jr. would rather give his dinner to his dog than watch the dog go hungry. That is why the 59-year-old Mississippi man is petitioning the Department of Agriculture to let him use food stamps on kibble and pet treats.

Pets are part of the family, Johnston argued, and families should not have to break up when they hit what he calls a “financial rough patch.” He is asking that the federal government modify food-stamp rules to make it easier for low-income people like him to buy food for their pets.

The petition has little chance of succeeding, experts say, given the political and logistical challenges of changing food stamps, otherwise known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But it has attracted the attention of nearly 80,000 signers on the popular petition site Care2, as well as a number of animal welfare organizations.

These groups say allowing food stamps to be used for pet food could potentially keep tens of thousands of animals out of shelters and prevent low-income people from cutting their pets’ meals.

“It’s potentially game-changing,” said Matt Bershadker, the president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “I think we should get behind this in a big way.”

Advocates say a food-stamp program that includes pet food would address a little-discussed gap in the social safety net: Currently, there is no federal program that helps low-income people care for their pets.

That population is a large one. According to the National Pet Owners Survey, a poll commissioned by the American Pet Products Association, an industry group, 14 percent of all pet-owning households make less than $25,000 per year — which, for a family of four, is roughly the federal poverty limit.

These households sometimes struggle to cover their pet-related costs, advocates say. Veterinary care and vaccinations are expensive. Food for dogs and cats averages $235 per year, according to the Pet Products Association.

When families don’t have enough money to buy pet food, they frequently do what Johnston does: Share the people food. But it’s not the same, and it can harm pets. And it can cut into the pet owner’s diet — a risk, given that many public health experts say food stamp allotments are already too small to provide adequate nutrition.

Food costs can also prompt low-income families to surrender or re-home a pet. In a 2015 study by the ASPCA, 30 percent of low-income people who relinquished their pets said they would have kept them if they had a free or low-cost pet food option.

About 776,000 of the 5.5 million dogs that enter shelters each year are euthanized, according to Mississippi State University statistics. Towns and cities also spend taxpayer money to round up strays and house them in municipal shelters, though no reliable national estimates exist on the cost of such programs.

“It’s hard to know that exact number,” the ASPCA’s Bershadker said. “But we do know the cost to the animal is potentially death.”

The problems are real, but food-stamp experts say it’s unclear whether changing SNAP should be part of the solution. SNAP has explicitly excluded pet food since its earliest authorization in 1964, when the Food Stamp Act defined “food” to mean “any food or food product for human consumption.” Changing that would require congressional action.

On top of that, there are administrative puzzles involved in extending food stamps to animals, said Craig Gundersen, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois and an expert on the food-stamp program. (The Agriculture Department declined to comment publicly on the petition.)

“I can’t imagine how the government would decide on, say, how much more money a family should get if they have a Bernese mountain dog,” Gundersen said, referring to a breed that can weigh more than 100 pounds. “Would this be more than for, say, a Sheltie?”

Anti Federalist
01-23-2018, 03:12 PM
No problem Eddie...I'll buy the Christmas gifts for your kids.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/83/7a/0a/837a0ada8881d42635de3fa3fd8db90f--tv-preachers-christmas-vacation.jpg

oyarde
01-23-2018, 03:28 PM
In real shithole countries they just eat them .

Swordsmyth
01-23-2018, 03:28 PM
I'm a contender for the title of world's #1 dog lover and this idea makes ME livid, I consider dogs to be almost people but that almost is still a massive ocean of separation.

If they can't afford their pets then maybe they will go out and get an under the table job to pay for them, or maybe they will get a real job to support themselves and their pets.

If there are a few who just can't work then boo hoo, if anybody has the money to waste helping them keep their pets then they should create a private charity. (which is the proper solution for the HUMANS on food stamps)

Liberals should be outraged at this too, after all aren't there enough poor starving PEOPLE in the country and the world that the money could be spent on before we get around to ANIMALS.

Dr.3D
01-23-2018, 03:30 PM
Next it will be government health insurance for pets.

Danke
01-23-2018, 03:33 PM
Next it will be government health insurance for pets.

I would like free food and health insurance for my pets.

Brian4Liberty
01-23-2018, 03:54 PM
I would like free food and health insurance for my pets.

Veterinarian costs are far too low. If we can only get government to help pay for pet health insurance, we will no doubt be able to increase those costs tenfold.

Danke
01-23-2018, 04:06 PM
Veterinarian costs are far too low. If we can only get government to help pay for pet health insurance, we will no doubt be able to increase those costs tenfold.


I don’t bring my pets into veterinarians.

shakey1
01-23-2018, 04:27 PM
What?... nothing for cats??? #meowtoo.;)

kpitcher
01-23-2018, 04:48 PM
Reminds me of a story my dad tells. He went to collect payment on work from someone who kept not paying. He was told "Sorry I'm late on paying but times are rough. I had to cash in the beer bottles just to buy dog food"

Danke
01-23-2018, 04:58 PM
What?... nothing for cats??? #meowtoo.;)


What about gerbils? HB ain’t rich.

pcosmar
01-23-2018, 05:02 PM
Veterinarian costs are far too low.
Not once mandatory Insurance kicks in.

tod evans
01-23-2018, 05:08 PM
Not once mandatory Insurance kicks in.

Penicillin for your "pet" $8.00 phone it in and pick-up over lunch...


Penicillin for you $150.00 office visit, $250.00 lab fees and 6 hrs off work = script for Wal-Mart for $5.00


See! Government/big-business have made human drugs cheaper than animal drugs....

heavenlyboy34
01-23-2018, 05:13 PM
What about gerbils? HB ain’t rich.

Not a pet person at all, thanks. I don't like cleaning up after them. :p

euphemia
01-23-2018, 05:50 PM
People with pets and no jobs could start their own businesses walking and feeding other peoples' pets. That would be a good way to buy food and vet care.

Danke
01-23-2018, 06:02 PM
Not a pet person at all, thanks. I don't like cleaning up after them. :p


Makes sense.

euphemia
01-23-2018, 06:03 PM
People with pets and no jobs could start their own businesses walking and feeding other peoples' pets. That would be a good way to buy food and vet care.

Gives new meaning to the phrase: Will work for food.

lilymc
01-23-2018, 06:48 PM
What?... nothing for cats??? #meowtoo.;)

+ rep for being pro kitty. :p

sparebulb
01-23-2018, 06:58 PM
https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/1/285x214/109379_1.jpg
file photo

My sarcastic and uppity black companion does not eat 'gubmint cheese.

euphemia
01-23-2018, 06:59 PM
We had a cat until we dog sat. That's when we realized we were really dog people. If someone can't work full time, it is reasonable for him to at least help care for other people's pets in order to feed his own pet.

People can give up a pet to a good home if they have many pets and need to trim the budget. I get the connection to pets, but I do not think someone should expect everyone to pay to support his pet when their own kids might go hungry.

Anti Federalist
01-23-2018, 10:37 PM
Not a pet person at all, thanks. I don't like cleaning up after them. :p

OMG...did you just walk into that...SMH

heavenlyboy34
01-23-2018, 10:53 PM
OMG...did you just walk into that...SMH

Kurwa?:confused:

fedupinmo
01-24-2018, 08:45 AM
I'm a contender for the title of world's #1 dog lover and this idea makes ME livid, I consider dogs to be almost people but that almost is still a massive ocean of separation.

If they can't afford their pets then maybe they will go out and get an under the table job to pay for them, or maybe they will get a real job to support themselves and their pets.

If there are a few who just can't work then boo hoo, if anybody has the money to waste helping them keep their pets then they should create a private charity. (which is the proper solution for the HUMANS on food stamps)

Liberals should be outraged at this too, after all aren't there enough poor starving PEOPLE in the country and the world that the money could be spent on before we get around to ANIMALS.

Maybe if we pay for their food, they can afford more of them, each chained out in its own round bare spot in the corner of the yard or cage at the back of the lot.
If you can't feed your dog yourself, you can't spare time to pet it either, more than a twice a day visit for water and food.
Also, to liberals animals are people, so they can include that brand of snowflake into the identity party.
Now free medical care for pets... I have a dog that's costing $60 per week in maintenance fees and special foods for diabeetus. Won't you kind brothers spare a dime? :rolleyes:

Anti Federalist
01-24-2018, 11:32 AM
Kurwa?:confused:

Danke was fucking with you.

In the worst way.

heavenlyboy34
01-24-2018, 12:31 PM
Danke was fucking with you.

In the worst way.
He is quite the little bitch, isn't he? :p

Danke
01-24-2018, 04:41 PM
He is quite the little bitch, isn't he? :p

how’s your Florida vacation going?

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/12/f0/3d/12f03dc937ce2167902846af711bd048--funny-ha-ha-funny-shit.jpg

heavenlyboy34
01-24-2018, 04:52 PM
how’s your Florida vacation going?

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/12/f0/3d/12f03dc937ce2167902846af711bd048--funny-ha-ha-funny-shit.jpg

I'm in AZ, and apparently your sightseeing trip there is enjoyable for ya... :eek: *pours bleach in eyes* no thanks for sharing :p