Dogz of the Vendors. By Uncle Monty.

Dogz of the Vendors
Story and Photos By Uncle Monty
.
“She is all that I own. I have nothing but her. I love her
more than I can say.” The young man wasn’t talking
about his dead mom or his new girlfriend or his little
sister or his state care baby girl. He was talking about

his beloved dog called "Missy." As a Big Issue vendor,

Ryan takes Missy with him wherever he goes and he

holds on to her like grim death. Ryan found Missy

under the bridge one night as he went to find a place

to rough sleep. Within minutes, Ryan and Missy hit

good chemistry and they soon became the

best of friends.

.
Missy isn’t a dog to Ryan, she is a four-legged friend

that he can rely upon better than most of his two-
legged ones. He’ll go without food in order that she
eats first. A chocolate lab, Missy is ever protective
of Ryan and Ryan is ever protective of her. They’ve

been together now for five years and they’re growing

old together. Ryan could well sing Ron Miller's song:
“For Once In My Life I Have Found Someone Who

Needs Me” or is it the song that Missy sings?

He Ryan and she Missy represent one of the many
love stories of the dogz of the vendors. And such dog

stories are also to be found among homeless folkz who

aren't necessarily street vendors of The Big Issue.
.

Dogz are my favourite creatures. That’s why I wanted

to write about, and to photograph, such dogz of the
vendors that I've seen and found on the streets of

London and elsewhere in my constant travels

around the world of homelessness.
.

With his dog, cold vendor John, No.

296, at his territorial NPG pitch.

.
I call him “The Colonic Jerk,” that he is, despite
his lovely black dog who is to be found with him
outside London’s National Portrait Gallery across

from the National Memorial to Nurse Edith Cavell

(1865-1915). She was sentenced to death by a Ger-

man firing squad for helping WWI British soldiers

escape back home.

.

John, who I’ll spare from telling the world his last name
that begin with a “B” and ends with a double “n,” is
far from sweet unlike his faithful dog. In fact, the jerk
spews out his obscenities like the hard-core alcoholic
that he is. Presently, he’s in rehab after a month in detox.
I hadn’t seen him or his dog for almost 18 months since
he reported me to The Big Issue for allegedly “intruding”
on his pitch so the nasty son of bitch said, who is not only
a pathological drunk but also a pathological liar, too.

Most other vendors steer clear of him for he's

that disliked by them, too.

.
When I last saw him by chance again last month,

he looked like death warmed-up as his unleashed

dog was unconditionally following him as usual. The
only good thing I have to say about “The Colonic Jerk”
is that he treats his pet dog with care and kindness with
no hint of abuse that I have occasionally seen among one or

two other homeless folkz. I hate and detest to see any kind of

cruelty, either intentionally or unintentionally, to any of the
animals, domestic or otherwise, by so-called humanbeings.
All creatures in my sight are among us by the pure
grace of God. Remember, too, when you spell the

word “dog” backwards it says – GOD.

.

The Colonic Jerk, No. 296.

He's Like Death Warmed Up.

.
When it comes to Keith (shown below), he’s like

sunlight compared to John, The Colonic Jerk. With

his beloved dog Breeze, Keith at age 27 has been selling

The Big Issue on and off for a number of years. And un-

like The Colonic Jerk, Keith tends to show respect and
manners to other fellow vendors like me. That's nice for

sure ... Keith isn’t mean, either. While I have found

that vendor No. 296. to be so mean and so cold.
.
Keith and Breeze

.
Dogz of the vendors aren’t all male dog lovers, al-
though most are. I have seen two or three women vendors
with their dogz. I saw one of them on The Strand I think
with three dogz all content to lay next to her as she begged
for money or offered a back issue or two of The Big Issue to
those who might help her and her dogz out to buy some food.

She asked, too, that I not photograph her and
I respected her rightful request for privacy.
.
For some street vendors and homeless folkz, dogz are
not only desired for companionship but also for physical
protection against others who may attempt to rob
them or harm them on the streets. Dogz are also used to
avoid or prevent arrest by the cops for petty offences like
begging or minor trespassing. Such dogz require the
police to ensure they are picked up and transported to safe
keeping at the nearest dog shelter and that can be quite an hassle
for such cops to have to do before taking up the case of the arrested.
In America, the cops will oftentimes shot dead the dog first as they
arrest the homeless on the mean streets for something or other as
they then soon ship them fast to the local jailhouse or county
detention facility. Many of the dogz of the vendors are also badly
underfed and really need veterinary care to help them live a
better quality of life. The poorer the vendor, the poorer is
usually the shape of the dog. It can be a dog’s life literally
for both the dog and the street vendor, especially during
the cold weather months of open exposure to the outdoor
winter elements that can result in death by hypothermia
and severe frost bite. Neither vendor nor dog should
have to suffer such a plight.
.
Photograph, But Don't Show My Face He Said.

.
"Fudge" is one of my favourite dogz (shown below)
with one of my favourite homeless pals called
Michael Browne, who is a true dog lover if I ever
saw one. Until he and Fudge moved out of
Betterton Street, they would daily come to visit me
at my Big Issue pitch. I invariably brought dog food for
hypo and delightful Fudge and food for Michael, too.

.
Fudge is such a photogenic dog to photograph with his
pure breed of line coating and precise features. He’d
be great in some kind of dog ad for dog food, he really
would … And he’s such a lovely dog is Fudge, but so
hypo you'd think he was a TV star. Maybe he already
thinks he is, I guess. So, this again is another love
story, in this specific case, of an homeless “marriage”
between homeless Michael and homeless Fudge.
Luckily, both of them now have a home to call their own.
And so together they are and both are off the streets
for good. They both deserve that like all other dogz
and vendors should ideally be housed and sheltered
to live life off the cold and mean streets.
.
Fudge and Michael Browne

So, in end the dogz of the vendors may one day
reach the rainbow’s end together in loving peace. And,
then far away from the maddening crowd that so often refuse
to give them dignity or a cup of humanity. If you cannot love
the vendor, then at least love his or her dog as best you can.
.

Homeless 4 with pet puppy at Harmsworth Park, 2oo5.

Dogz of the vendors also attract would-be customers to their pitch and such helps them in their attempt to make sales. I think animal lovers tend to give for the pet's sake rather than for the vendor's sake when they buy The Big Issue at such a pitch. In giving for whatever reason, the person who gives is doing so because he or she can identify in someway or other with the pet or the vendor or the magazine or all three. Friendly dogz tend to disarm others, while aggressive ones do the opposite. And vendors who are friendly will also get a better deal from the public than those who are rude and hostile. I think that's how naturally it should be. But another thing, dogz show that the homeless aspire to being as normal as say the customer's next door neighbour who may keep dogz or cats and/or other pets just like most normal people off the streets. But above all, it is the desire of the individual to love and to be loved that is symbolised by owning a dog or a pet of some kind. My arguement is that a dog or a pet doesn't need an owner per se, but rather a good friend before all else. As my dear friend Dr. Susan Grinnnell once told me at the time of the death of her own fond dog Joey - "He was born a dog and died a friend." That is certainly what some of the dogz of the vendors have or will become ... either at life or at death. I know for me, all the dogz I have had over the years I have always treated them as a friend and most certainly not as an owner. If a dog needs only an owner, then the dog shelter is the place. If a dog needs a friend, and they do, then a loving home is the key to such fond care.

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'Biggest Issue' for 170 homeless of India ... Launching The Big Issue in India by this Christmas, John Bird is confident of its success with 10 journalists so far recruited, reports the freesheet London Lite, to find slum dwellers as contributors. John himself has spoken to the folkz in the slums of Mumbai (Bombay) and Kolkata (Calcutta) and feels certain, I guess, that it's worth a try to promote and sell his publication there. I don't know India at all and I have never been there, but what I have read about the vast country of India over the years would seem to me to require alot of fortitude and alot of cash to even survive for a short time let alone for a long time down the road. With the embedded system of cast and the Hindu/Sikh/Jaianism/Muslim configuration ever present in the drama that is India, The Big Issue is going to have to be very careful it doesn't inflame or do anything to heighten any of those ticking social and religious time bombs. Frankly, I don't see non-slum folkz buying a magazine devoted to India's vast problem of homelessness. And, how many of the 170 million homeless can John Bird expect to harness into becoming free street vendors? Maybe he'll have so many would-be vendors, he'll be swamped out of business. Whatever, where there's a will, there's a way. So "Good Luck" in India, in any event.

Truly, Uncle Monty. +The 3rd Day of the Lambeth Conference, 2oo8.

...

:: NEWS UPDATE ::

Big Issue vendor John Sean Dearie, 52, was knocked down and

sadly killed by a lorry at Glasgow's Saltmarket on July 17th, reports

The Scotsman. He'd been a street vendor for the past ten years at

the city's Buchanan Street Bus Station. (Posted July 22nd, 2oo8.)
...