CLEVELAND, Ohio - Hard times can strike anyone virtually any time, and they often force people to make difficult decisions. But one decision would tug at the heartstrings of any animal lover.
Should people have to give up their pets if they can no longer afford them, or should they be able to use government assistance food money, like SNAP, to buy pet food?
As of October 2017, around 45 million Americans received government assistance food money for a variety of reasons, such as job loss, home foreclosures and health issues.
A Mississippi man started a Care2.com petition asking the federal government to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to use their benefits to purchase pet food, which garnered more than 64,000 signatures, according to a press release.
Edward B. Johnston Jr. said he has been on SNAP benefits for a few months but can no longer afford to feed his small dog because of restrictions on what he can use the benefits to purchase.
"Some argue that people should not keep pets if they cannot afford them, but the fact is that an individual or family's financial status can change at any time," Johnston Jr.'s Care2.com petition reads. "Should someone be forced to give up a pet they've had for years just because they hit a financial rough patch? Or should they be able to utilize federal aid to continue feeding their pet?"
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, SNAP benefits are only for human foods, meaning Johnston and others in his situation can't use the benefits to buy medicine, soap or toilet paper either. SNAP users also can't buy things like alcohol and cigarettes.
But Johnston isn't concerned about any of those things.
"Pets are important for emotional support," Johnston said. "Being poor is hard enough without being expected to give up your companion. For most people, pets are considered family, not property."
Poverty, even short-term financial hardships, is one of the main reasons pet owners surrender their animals to shelters, which tend to be overcrowded and under-resourced as is, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Should people be able to use government assistance food money to buy pet food?
