“My Dog is My Home”: Keeping Families Together Through Housing Insecurity
In a powerful episode of The Animal Welfare Junction podcast, host Dr. Michelle Gonzalez takes listeners inside the 10th Anniversary celebration of My Dog is My Home and Found House Interfaith Housing Network—two organizations leading the way in supporting people experiencing homelessness with their beloved pets.
This special episode features deeply moving stories from four individuals who found themselves unhoused—each with a loyal companion animal by their side. Their journeys are filled with heartbreak, resilience, and ultimately, hope. Through support from Found House and My Dog is My Home, they were able to access housing, resources, and dignity—without having to give up their pets.
Why This Work Matters
Over 580,000 people in the U.S. experience homelessness on any given night (HUD, 2022). For many, pets are not just companions—they’re family. But the lack of pet-friendly shelters and housing options leaves many facing an impossible choice: a roof or their pet.
That’s where My Dog is My Home steps in. Their mission is to increase access to shelter and housing for people experiencing homelessness with companion animals, recognizing that families include all members—human and animal.
In Episode 34, founder Christine Kim shares the roots of the organization and her advocacy work supporting the PUPP Act—a federal bill to fund co-sheltering programs and remove barriers to housing for pet owners in crisis.
Co-Sheltering in Action: Found House IHN
In Episode 24, Garrett Parsons, Pet Support Director at Found House, explains how their Cincinnati-based Pet Support Program provides a compassionate, community-based model for keeping people and pets together. Their embedded pet shelter and coordinated care approach reduces trauma and helps families transition into long-term housing—with their pets.
Since launching in 2014, Found House’s pet program has been a model of what’s possible when we embrace a whole-family approach to homelessness prevention and response.
How You Can Help
Support co-sheltering and pet-inclusive housing policies like the PUPP Act
Donate to organizations like My Dog is My Home, Found House and Ohio Animal Advocates
Advocate for shelters and housing programs in your area to include pets, and contact you state senator and tell them to keep and support the Ohio Housing Trust Fund OHTF, which provides services for families and their pets faced with housing-challenges and homelessness. Use OAA's action alert on the OHTF to contact your Ohio Senator and ask them to preserve the OHTF.
Listen and share these stories to help raise awareness
Keeping people and pets together is about more than housing—it’s about healing, safety, and recognizing that love and loyalty know no zip code.
