Companion species in situations of homelessness: Stories of relationships between living beings

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the interaction between companion species, in human/domestic animal relationships, in situations of
homelessness, through an anthropological and ethnographic approach, concomitant with urban care and rescue actions aimed at
dogs and cats, in the streets of the municipality of Carapicuíba, in the Greater São Paulo region, Brazil. The debate concerning a
society that contemplates and dignifies living beings, not only humans, emerges from the need to highlight the role of millions of
domestic animals whose meaning in contemporary social life has been changing with incredible speed, affecting society in its bonds
as well as changing affective relationships between beings, with repercussions in the theoretical field – from philosophy to biology,
with an emphasis on social and human sciences.