The unbreakable bond between the homeless and their pets

Kristian Kosh was homeless and at rock bottom. Then he met Buddy. Watch the video.

Kristian Kosh can pinpoint the moment his spiral into despair, addiction, crime and homelessness began.

Equally, the 43-year-old knows what turned his life around and brought the survivor to where he is now – clean, at peace and paying it forward. His best friend – deaf blue heeler Buddy – and Jennifer Howard, the remarkable woman who helped them stay together.

Rarely is the human-animal bond more powerfully demonstrated than in the love between a person facing homelessness and their pet. Sharing companionship, warmth and security, their relationship is priceless – and even life-saving.

Raised by his grandparents, Mr Kosh lost his beloved Pop when he was just 18. It was a devastating blow that saw him head down a dark path.

The day after his bereavement, the teen was suspended from a district sporting competition after a violent meltdown. “I was hurting, I shouldn’t have been allowed on that court,” he says.

Without his father figure, and a hobby to keep him busy, his descent into drug use was rapid.

In the year after his 21st birthday, Mr Kosh’s family turned their backs on him and he lost his place to live. By 23, he was in prison for low-level crime.

“I was mentally disturbed, I was trying to kill myself without killing myself,’’ he says.

Kristian Kosh and his dog Buddy outside his Mitchell Park home. Picture: Ben Clark

“I stopped eating and drinking and just took drugs on purpose.

“I was doing my best to check out without actually doing it myself.”

He spent many years living rough and bouncing in and out of prison.

About six years ago, Buddy came into Mr Kosh’s life and the first seeds of change were sown.

The loyal blue heeler was gifted to him by a mate, who thought they could use each other’s company. But Mr Kosh was still in the grip of his addiction, and with what he freely admits were “bad choices’’, he and Buddy found themselves on the streets.

“The only emergency shelter that let you have pets had a six to 12-month waiting list,’’ Mr Kosh says. “I got tired of bouncing from one drug house to another, I couldn’t keep doing that to Buddy. It got to the point where I was going to have to give up my dog.”

But Jennifer Howard, founder of Paws & Pals – part of the Safe Pets, Safe Families organisation – had other ideas.

She crowdfunded money for Mr Kosh and Buddy to stay at a motel while she worked on finding them somewhere safe to live. The duo have now had a home for nearly four years.

Safe Pets Safe Families founder Jennifer Howard. Picture: Tom Huntley

“That’s when I cleaned up my life,’’ Mr Kosh says. “That huge help keeping me with my dog, when I thought I had to give him up. That was the wakeup call I needed. I got off the drugs and got into recovery and counselling, and working on dealing with my issues that made me turn to drugs in the first place.”

For her part, Ms Howard says: “I am so proud of Kristian, he was in a dark, dark place when I met him and he has jumped mountains. I love seeing client’s transformations, it is amazing and beautiful and nothing compares to having that as a reward.”

Today, Mr Kosh has a part-time job and is doing volunteer work. He is involved in advocacy and public-speaking. His goal is to secure full-time employment and buy a car.

“The impact of (Buddy and me) staying together through this journey is priceless,’’ he says. “There are no words that I have to adequately describe it. I wouldn’t be sitting here, and I doubt he would be the same dog. It is everything.

“I was so lucky to have someone backing me all the way. Jen knew I was ready, I just needed that right place, somewhere secure and safe and away from all the people I was surrounded by.”

Ms Howard’s belief in the profound human-animal bond has driven her groundbreaking mission with Safe Pets, Safe Families, which she founded in 2013. That, and searing personal experience.

The inspiring charity dynamo, 41, says she just wants to be what she needed – and didn’t get.

A domestic violence survivor, Ms Howard was in her twenties when she fled to a shelter with her children. She had no choice but to leave behind her dogs Missy and Ballsy.

“I had my pups for three years before I had my kids, they were my best friends, but the shelter did not accept pets,” she recalls.

She risked her safety to visit and feed her pets, until they ultimately had to be surrendered to a shelter. Their unknown fate haunts Ms Howard to this day.

“It broke my heart, it haunts me,’’ she says. “I just felt a strong feeling of injustice, it was really unfair that I had to lose my beloved pets, they were there for me through everything.”

Once back on her feet, Ms Howard felt a “burning’’ drive to help others.

What began as her offering to personally foster the pets of those in crisis, then a small Facebook group, has burgeoned into a “pretty massive organisation’’.

Safe Pets Safe Families now runs multiple programs from fostering, pop up vet clinics and pet food drives to a vet crisis fund. They cover all of metropolitan Adelaide as well as the Hills regions, Fleurieu Peninsula and the Riverland – and even further afield when they can.

It’s a safe haven for people facing all kinds of adversity, allowing them to stay connected with their companion animals.

Kristian Kosh and his dog Buddy outside his Mitchell Park home. Picture: Ben Clark

“Pets mean so much to people no matter what crisis they might be facing, so we eventually started assisting people that are experiencing homelessness and mental health crises,” Ms Howard says.

Ms Howard says the non-profit is struggling to keep up with demand, and that the phone is constantly ringing.

“We hear all their stories ... each phone call is quite distressing,” she says. “This is the first time that we have had to turn people away, it is heartbreaking. Our vet fund spent $77,000 in three months this year, which is about $40,000 more than what we had in the community fund.

“So many people are struggling ... especially with the housing crisis and cost of living. We are seeing pets staying in foster care for a lot longer, it is taking people a lot longer to find housing.

“One of our clients ... is staying in a motel, she has three kids, and is waiting for heart surgery. And she’s homeless. It is so scary to think about that. And then being separated from their pets too.”

Safe Pets Safe Families relies on volunteer pet foster carers, donations and sponsorship from veterinarians, animal groovers and others. But Ms Howard is trying to secure government funding.

One of the charity’s biggest referrers is SA Health – in the first three months of this year, a third of clients were mental health referrals. Ms Howard says the number of people going through a secondary crisis is increasing as a result of the housing crunch.

“So we can see somebody go through domestic violence and receive the support around that, and then all of a sudden they might get exited out of those services and then end up experiencing homelessness,” she says.

“I really want the government to recognise the human and animal bond, when you support people with their pets, you are reducing the impact on mental health and even some of the medical issues.”

Every winter, the Sunday Mail Blanket Appeal raises funds to help people experiencing – or at risk of – homelessness.

This year’s appeal, with the support of The Advertiser Foundation, and corporate partners Mitsubishi and ACMA Foundation, will assist Hutt St Centre and Catherine House.

Generous donations are flooding in from individuals and groups, including Meals on Wheels Glenelg and All Souls Church St Peters.

Donate HERE, or send cheques to The Advertiser Foundation, GPO Box 339, Adelaide, 5000.

A DOG’S TALE: KERRY AND HER BELOVED HUSKIES

Kerry, 52, is a loving mum to two young adults – and three rescue huskies.

She says her dogs Jasper, Sheba and Zuca rescued her family “more than we rescued them”.

“I believe that people don’t really understand the connection between people and their animals, you can have the worst day and feel absolutely worthless,” she says.

“Being homeless can shatter and break you, but you see your dogs and I forget all of that.”

Kerry has now faced homelessness twice. After fleeing with her sons as a result of domestic violence, she faced an uphill battle securing long-term housing.

“We were living in medium-term housing, which usually only lasts about 18 months, but due to Covid, we ended up staying for four years,’’ she says. “Then we received notice that our time was up and we had to move out.”

Kerry and her huskies. Picture: Karen /Petstar Photography

Today, Kerry is staying in emergency accommodation in the Adelaide CBD, which does not allow her sons, now aged 18 and 21, a room, let alone her pets.

But under the Safe Pets Safe Families foster program, Jasper, Sheba and Zuca are all being looked after, under the one roof.

“I am so grateful for this organisation to allow me to keep my pets safe while I am facing this tough situation, while I am trying to get back on my feet,” Kerry says.

Ms Howard says before being placed at risk of homelessness again, Kerry was “volunteering for us, she was doing so well and getting back involved with the community’’.

“You could see the improvement in her,’’ Ms Howard says. “When she became at risk of becoming homeless again, her mental health just deteriorated. It just puts you back to square one.”

Kerry continues to face barriers while trying to secure housing for her family. At one low point she considered surrendering her dogs, but Jennifer Howard refused to give up on her or the possibility of their future reunion in their own safe place.

“My dogs are my home,’’ Kerry says. “They allow you to be loved and feel safe, and to me that is just so valuable. We face so many challenges every day and your dog can just lift your spirits.”

Kerry hopes for more pet-friendly housing but more particularly, pet friendly emergency accommodation, especially for those who have experienced domestic violence.

She says that in the presence of her beloved pets, for a brief moment, she can feel peace and “forget that I’ve just been shattered and broken, or have just been told that I’ll never live with my kids again”.

Originally published as The unbreakable bond between the homeless and their pets