# Homeless best friends



## Chiller (Nov 19, 2005)

Met this young man and his dog today, while I went for a walk downtown.  He is homeless, but all he has is his dog.   He did not speak to me much, except thank me for stopping, and say that his dog is sick.   
  I was about to grab lunch , but decided to give him what ever money I had in my pocket.  It was not much...about $6.00 or so, but I could not leave, knowing I had a pile of camera equipment, and lunch money, and he only has the love of his dog. 

  I snapped these as I walked away. 







  Missed the focus a bit on this, so I converted it to B&W, and added a little noise.


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## woodsac (Nov 19, 2005)

You're a good man!! Very noble of you, and a very touching story to go with 2 great photos :thumbup:


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## terri (Nov 19, 2005)

What a heartbreaker. :thumbup:


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## aprilraven (Nov 19, 2005)

makes me wanna cry.... you did a great job preserving his dignity and showing the story in pics....

street shots always get me, but this one, with the dog hugged up against him, and both of them keeping the other warm, its just wonderful...

this is a touching story.... great work chiller... great work.


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## icondigital (Nov 20, 2005)

touching shots chiller ! :sun:


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## Verbal (Nov 20, 2005)

Awww


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## AIRIC (Nov 20, 2005)

:thumbup:

Eric


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## Peanuts (Nov 20, 2005)

The first shot. Wow. A picture that truly means a thousand words.


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## Pax (Nov 20, 2005)

Boy, what great shots, Chiller! I love the first one. It conveys so much emotion, it's brilliant. :thumbup:


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## vixenta (Nov 20, 2005)

wow, chiller, the story is sad and the captures you caught only add the emotions, its such a shame that some people are in these situations, but at least he's not totally alone.  First one does it for me


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## geoffros (Nov 20, 2005)

toally awesome, sad story. captures it perfectly

its awesome in b&w

nice work


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## ferny (Nov 20, 2005)

Just... stunning. Extremely powerful for me. It's just..... wow.


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## Glen C (Nov 20, 2005)

Great shot Chiller. Very emotional and touching.


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## LizM (Nov 20, 2005)

That second shot is just haunting.  Glad you got them some food (I'm sure the man shared with the dog).


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## photo gal (Nov 20, 2005)

Very moving Chilley and great pics too!  Come here I wanna hug ya! :hug::


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## M @ k o (Nov 20, 2005)

Cheers Chiller :thumbup:


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## Alexandra (Nov 20, 2005)

Incredible shots!
Really moving. :thumbup:


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## HoboSyke (Nov 20, 2005)

Nice shots chiller.
But would everyone be as touched if this homeless person was a heroin addict theif who mugged old ladies and broke into peoples houses to buy drugs?
I dont mean to take anything away from your photos, they are great, but just seeing what poeple thought of my comment..


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## woodsac (Nov 20, 2005)

HoboSyke said:
			
		

> Nice shots chiller.
> But would everyone be as touched if this homeless person was a heroin addict theif who mugged old ladies and broke into peoples houses to buy drugs?
> I dont mean to take anything away from your photos, they are great, *but just seeing what poeple thought of my comment*..



I think it's completely irrelevant? You could make that assumption about any person, in any photo posted, but you choose to stereotype and try and fault a homeless person. Any well dressed person in the normal photos posted here is equally capable of the atrocities you just mentioned.


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## anua (Nov 20, 2005)

really love the first shot, Chiller


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## danalec99 (Nov 20, 2005)

:thumbup:


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## Ramiro Orensanz (Nov 20, 2005)

HoboSyke said:
			
		

> Nice shots chiller.
> But would everyone be as touched if this homeless person was a heroin addict theif who mugged old ladies and broke into peoples houses to buy drugs?
> I dont mean to take anything away from your photos, they are great, but just seeing what poeple thought of my comment..


 
what!? are you kidding!!!??? do you know who are the mayor consumers of expensive drugs in the occidental world??? i can asure you that they´re not the homeless.........



			
				woodsac said:
			
		

> I think it's completely irrelevant? You could make that assumption about any person, in any photo posted, but you choose to stereotype and try and fault a homeless person. Any well dressed person in the normal photos posted here is equally capable of the atrocities you just mentioned.


 
i was going to post something like this, but it seems that woodsac can also have a mature point of view of soceity........


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## Ramiro Orensanz (Nov 20, 2005)

oh and great photo there, chiller! it really makes a tear come out of one........ hope that dog isnt in much pain...... and the owner.......


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## jstuedle (Nov 20, 2005)

Very touching image Chiller. Very well captured and a touching story. The emotion shown between dog and master comes through the image and grabs the heart. It's a shame we have such images available to capture.


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## Scarlett_Phoenix (Nov 20, 2005)

Increadable shots. They both show so much love and feeling between dog and owner. Two images to be very very proud of. :thumbup:


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## Polygon (Nov 20, 2005)

Great images.


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## bellaPictures (Nov 20, 2005)

Thats wonderful of you to do that. There should be more people like that out there! I wouldve done the same. I love the first shot! Makes me want to go hug my dog! At least he has his dog to keep him company.


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## Raymond J Barlow (Nov 20, 2005)

nice stuff Chiller, i know you are a kind fellow, and it's very cool what you did for him.  

as for hoboskye's comment.. anyone can say "what if" about anything... anywhere  , i personally see no need to distract form Chillers post.


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## JonMikal (Nov 20, 2005)

:thumbup:


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## Becky (Nov 21, 2005)

Heartbreaking story Chiller, and a cracking photo showing a lot of love, really realllllly well done!


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## Chiller (Nov 21, 2005)

Thank you all for your amazing replies, and comments.  I appreciate it.  
  HoboSyke...I understand how you feel.   I had the chance to look into his eyes, see his matted hair, or the dirt under his nails.  Is eyes spelled defeat.
   He might be giving up accomodation for his dog, I dont know.  But as I stood there with a thousand dollar camera around my neck, a car 2 blocks away, that I could get into to take me to my nice warm house, to see my dog, I could not just walk away.  We have homeless people everywhere in our city , but this one really touched me.  There is love between him and his dog and the bond that they share , even under these circumstances.  I wish I could have done more. 

  Thank you sooo much for all your kind words.


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## aprilraven (Nov 21, 2005)

HoboSyke said:
			
		

> Nice shots chiller.
> But would everyone be as touched if this homeless person was a heroin addict theif who mugged old ladies and broke into peoples houses to buy drugs?
> I dont mean to take anything away from your photos, they are great, but just seeing what poeple thought of my comment..




i understand what your saying, but who needs kindness more than if this guy is a crack head...i mean, its easy to love nice sweet kind people...the trick is to love and show kindness to the ones you have a hrd time loving...that is true kindness...

great job chiller. :hugs:


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## LittleMan (Nov 21, 2005)

Just thought I would say that those are some really powerful images. 
Great job. :thumbup:


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## JonK (Nov 21, 2005)

aprilraven said:
			
		

> i understand what your saying, but who needs kindness more than if this guy is a crack head...i mean, its easy to love nice sweet kind people...the trick is to love and show kindness to the ones you have a hrd time loving...that is true kindness...
> 
> great job chiller. :hugs:


well said aprilraven. 

chiller...thanks for sharing your perspective and reasoning behind why you took these shots....makes them all the better. :thumbup:


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## JonMikal (Nov 21, 2005)

i keep coming back to this thread. something keeps telling me to look again and again.

the emotion that stirs in me immediately when i view these is overwhelming. i can't effectively put in words what i want to express about your image Carl...im sorry. 

i've *never* bookmarked a thread from this site....i bookmarked this one.


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## anicole (Nov 21, 2005)

Man:  I'd give you the world if I could ... hope you know I love you

Dog:  We have each other ... to me, that IS the world


powerful shot(s), Chiller.


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## Chiller (Nov 21, 2005)

Thank you April, Littleman, JonK, JonMikal and anicole, for all your kind words.   It really means a lot to me.


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## clarinetJWD (Nov 21, 2005)

Just so touching.  There is so much emotion here


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## Corry (Nov 21, 2005)

I can't really say anything that hasn't been said already.  I'll give yet another  :thumbup:  . Thank you very much fro sharing these.


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## m.blankenship (Nov 21, 2005)

You have no idea how these photos made me feel.

I think you should print them out and give them to him as a gift.


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## tekzero (Nov 21, 2005)

great first pic


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## D70Mike (Nov 21, 2005)

Great pictures. I'm very warey of a lot of homeless people though. We have a lot here in Birmingham (England) and I can guarantee you that a lot spend their money on drugs (they come into where I work and 'use the toilets'. Let's just say it takes them a long time and they come out looking slightly more distant!).

I also ask the question. If you're struggling for money, why would you make matters worse by having a dog that needs feeding and careing for? It's a well known fact that a lot of these people can earn upwards of £100 a day in big cities. Homelessness in the UK is a concious choice as the government give you enough to live on if you don't have a job. If I was earning £100 a day I certainly wouldn't be on the streets!


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## JonMikal (Nov 21, 2005)

D70Mike said:
			
		

> I'm very warey of a lot of homeless people though. We have a lot here in Birmingham (England) and I can guarantee you that a lot spend their money on drugs (they come into where I work and 'use the toilets'. Let's just say it takes them a long time and they come out looking slightly more distant!)


 
...and your point is?



			
				HoboSyke said:
			
		

> But would everyone be as touched if this homeless person was a heroin addict theif who mugged old ladies and broke into peoples houses to buy drugs?
> I dont mean to take anything away from your photos, they are great, *but just seeing what poeple thought of my comment*..


 
why do you guys harp on this stuff? how do you know he doesn't use the money to help those *less* fortunate than he is? what these individuals do with the money they receive can be debated till the end of time.......enjoy the *photo*!


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## elsaspet (Nov 21, 2005)

Haunting Images Chiller, and his story is so sad.  You are a very caring person.  Hugs.


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## Rob (Nov 22, 2005)

I like the first one best, I think the colour sets the scene more accurately. Great capture and good to see someone taking the time.

Rob


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## Mansi (Nov 22, 2005)

aww well what a wonderful capture... #1 :thumbsup:
wow


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## errant_star (Nov 22, 2005)

I wasn't going to comment on this picture (mostly because of all the asides in this thread) BUT I keep coming back to it.

You've really "captured" the emotion in this shot wonderfully :thumbup: 

This literally brought tears to my eyes because I was there once ... I was the dirty street kid with nothing in this world that I cared about except my dog. I know what it's like to be there and not know what was going to happen next ... 

:hug:: to you for being you! ... 

Just an aside I still have my dog 9 years later and have a wonderful family and decent life to boot ... so to the rest of you ... who are you to judge ?


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## Chiller (Nov 22, 2005)

Thank you again to everyone for your replies and comments. 
  D70Mike...Thanks Mike for your comment.   I have never judged a book by its cover.  I feel that this guy is human with a heart, and I dont know his circumstances.  Maybe he is there by his choice, maybe not. But he is still one of us, and I can not kick a man when he is down. 
   I agree, there are frauds, but there are frauds in our every day life. Your neighbor, your lawyer, even your doctor.  Anybody can be, so I can not judge this man the same, just cause he is on the street. 
   I only wanted to show the love between him and his dog, no matter what the situation was.   Thanks again Mike for your reply.  I appreciate your view. 

 Thanks again everyone.


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## anicole (Nov 22, 2005)

Chiller, you are nothing but class, fella.  Nothing but class.


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## aprilraven (Nov 22, 2005)

chiller,

look at it this way..... 
for one, your shots evoke an emotion that is not easily dismissed...is that not what the camera is all about??

for two... your never boring...!!!!!  got your back, chiller, we got your back....!

and for three.... i would give anything to have a pic that kept people coming back, and staying in their minds....    

see how good it is??


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## LaFoto (Nov 22, 2005)

Since I have never told you how much these photos touch me, you can't know it. But I feel it is about time to let you know, even though I suddenly lack all the words when something REALLY touches me deep down inside!

And even IF a person can no longer live without the drugs, why would the PERSON be any worse for it. The circumstances are dramatic. Yes. So much so that they need to fulfil their physical need secretly, come by their drugs illegally, feel feelings of helplessness and loss and no perspective and all... But with all that, the broken, defeated, often utterly poor addicts are not those to blame. If so, it would be those smart rich people who make all their money with drugs... 

There was this old man who lives at the bus-stop for most of the time and carries all his possession on an old, rickety bike. His heavy bike fell over on the edge of the street just at the outcome of the roundabout and he was unable to pick it up again. There he was. Old, maybe very drunk but I don't know, and visibly helpless. No one stopped. The cars zoomed by and everyone gave that man funny looks. "Ah. Look. That drunk, ha-ha." I pulled to the side, my kids went: "Huh? Mama? What...?" and saw me get out, walk back, cross the street and help that man get his bike back up and steady. I just thought he was IN DANGER where and how he was. Whether a DRUNK person is in danger, or a child, or a very old person or whoever... the helpless need help until they can get back to helping themselves. Sometimes it is just the tiny thing of stopping and putting their bike back in the wheels...

Too easy to sniff the air and judge, "bah, drunkard, addict".....


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## zedin (Nov 22, 2005)

Damn it!  I had to sit there trying not to cry for about 5min..  Great shots!


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## duncanp (Nov 22, 2005)

very powerful and touching....   poor guy


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## saulmr (Nov 22, 2005)

Photo #1 is a very powerful image, the way they are hugging each other says everything. When you have nothing left to hang on, the inconditional love from a Dog can save you from the darkest moments.... And all they ask is for a pat in the head in return.

Keep up the good work! It's a very moving photo.



			
				HoboSyke said:
			
		

> But would everyone be as touched if this homeless person was a heroin addict theif who mugged old ladies and broke into peoples houses to buy drugs?
> I dont mean to take anything away from your photos, they are great, but just seeing what poeple thought of my comment..


I hate when people make these kind of comments without knowing the reason why this person ended up in. Point taken that there are lots of crazy people out there, but there's also very nice people you meet along the way.... The point is you never know, and they are humans too that deserve our compassion and attention before we judge them just because they are on the street.


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## Chiller (Nov 22, 2005)

Thank you again to everyone for your kind words.  I appreciate all of them.  I am just blown away, by the overwhelming reply to this post. I wish there was a way I could show this man, how much people really care. Maybe I will see him again, and I can tell him to stay  strong and hold his head up.  
Thank you all so much . 
Carl


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## Raymond J Barlow (Nov 22, 2005)

sometimes we take a look at a photo, and it brings out the reality in our hearts.. You have done this wonderfully Chiller, with your photos, and your heart.  

Very unfortunatly, too many people don't look for both sides of the coin., there is a reason for everything.. and having an open un-judging mind is the way to view these situations imo.  we are all only human, unperfect... respect those even if it seems they don't deserve it.. it's worth the effort.


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