Perceived Relationships and the Costs and Benefits of Dog Ownership in Czech Homeless and Non-Homeless People

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ABSTRACT Dog ownership is connected to several psychological and physical health benefits, but it also comes with costs and consequences in terms of providing suitable accommodation or leaving the dog while going to work, hospital, or traveling on holiday. Although many people think that homeless individuals should not have a dog, dog ownership among homeless communities is quite popular and beneficial for them. In this study, we compared the perceived costs and benefits of dog ownership (based on a Czech version of the Monash Dog Owner Relationship Scale) among people who had and did not have permanent housing. In total, 1,056 people participated in the study, of which 955 had permanent housing and 101 did not. After completing the questionnaire, participants experiencing homelessness responded to open-ended questions about their life with a dog on the street. No statistically significant differences emerged in the Owner–Dog Interaction subscale (p = 0.289), and Perceived Costs subscale (p = 0.251). However, for the Perceived Emotional Closeness subscale, there was a statistically significant difference between the groups, (Z = 2.079, p = 0.038): homeless dog owners reported higher emotional closeness to their dogs. These results underline the importance of dog companionship for homeless individuals. Although both groups were likely to regard the dog as a part of the family, for a person facing homelessness, their dog may be the only family member. Homeless dog owners often refuse accommodation options or jobs when dogs are not permitted to accompany them. To address this complicated scenario, further research into the One Health approach is required.