Nothing makes the nights feel cozier than your dog’s comforting warm nose

‘A sleeping bag for two’ is not the title of a comedy, but is a practical solution implemented by Save the Dogs to help people living on the streets in Milan with their dogs. The City Council has been unable to keep its promise, which now dates back several years, to create at least one dormitory to accommodate people living on the streets with an animal, particularly during the winter months. We have therefore come up with an idea to provide something special to try to mitigate the harsh weather at night on the Milanese streets.

People living on the streets with their pets (not because they are looking for pity but because they are sharing their lives with a faithful friend) would never agree to be separated from their dogs, which is why they stay outside with them even when the weather turns freezing cold. Save the Dogs has come up with an idea that offers practical help, by personally distributing sleeping bags for two so that dogs and their owners can keep each other warm, exactly like those lucky people who do exactly the same thing on their sofas at home.

Thanks to the volunteer veterinarians working with our street units, the pets belonging to the people we assist are thoroughly checked over, not only to ensure that they are healthy but also to ensure that they have no transmittable diseases, a factor which needs to be taken into account when promiscuity and outdoor living conditions make it difficult to ensure regular washing and good hygiene.

This is why we continue to ask the local authorities, and we will not tire of doing so, for at least one facility to be made available to accommodate the homeless with their dogs, offering them the possibility of accessing the basic services that a supportive community should never deny to those who live a life on the outskirts that is both difficult and also filled with risks.

A sleeping bag for two is not only a means of fighting the cold weather, but is also a symbol of the feeling of togetherness that humans and animals can share, when they give their affection without judgment and without assigning blame, simply sealing the pact of friendship between men and dogs, which all too often we humans have betrayed in the past. Stories about this kind of love have existed for more than 12,000 years, and that should perhaps lead us to reflect a little more on the true value of selfless affection.

To help us fight prejudice and to support the Friends on the Street, Companions for Life project so that it can continue to expand, please make a donation or donate supplies.