Chiennes de vies : la relation anthropozoologique, un angle mort de l'intervention en itinérance?
As loyal companions, friends and confidants, nonhuman animals can become irreplaceable allies for homeless people. Yet this hybrid relationship does not seem to be addressed in social work issues. Despite the emergence of animal assisted care, it is not uncommon for the homeless animals to be excluded from those practices, and their presence to be marginalized, considered by social workers to fall outside their mandate. This paradoxical situation leads at the same time to the exclusion of people who, refusing separation from their animal mate, can not benefit from available resources: the homeless human-animal partners then become deviant among the deviants. Is it possible to give a legitimate place back to nonhuman animals in this context? Can they be both beneficial to social work, and at the same time benefit from it? Finally, in what way(s) can the human-animal relation (HAR) be considered in social work practices with homeless people? As part of this sociological study of deviance and HAR, we focus on the case of dogs in contemporary times, and more specifically their presence and participation in the community services welcoming homeless people in Montreal. After having identified the issues and the obstacles of taking HAR into account, we present and analyze two pilot initiatives illustrating the conditions and possible modalities of the hybridization of social work practices.
Epreuve Communauté hybride Human animal relation Deviance Homeless Dog Social work Care Trial Representations Hybrid communities