Brazilian city's homeless get incentive for going to shelter: beds for their pets

A homeless man embraces his dog while resting in a shelter as low temperatures hit the streets, in Canoas, Brazil July 26, 2022. REUTERS/Diego Vara

CANOAS, Brazil (Reuters) - A small city in southern Brazil has found a way to attract more homeless people to one of its shelters on chilly winter nights: They now also take in people's pets.

Canoas -- a city with an estimated population of 348,000 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul -- came to the realization that many people living on the streets avoided staying at the city's 14 shelters during the Southern Hemisphere winter now taking place because their pets were not welcome, said the city's animal welfare special secretary, Fabiane Tomazi Borba.