San Francisco has a new project that will let homeless animals and formerly homeless humans help each other out. WOOF, or Wonderful Opportunities for Occupants and Fidos, is pairing animals at overcrowded shelters with formerly homeless people.

The city is giving them a weekly stipend for caring for the dog and  in exchange for a promise not to panhandle anymore. The Community Housing Partnership makes sure owner & pup have a place to live. New pet owners learn to take care of animals, which is a marketable job skill. Fewer people and pets will end up on the street. It’s a win-win all around, unless you’re an absolute Scrooge who can’t stand the idea of precious tax dollars helping people and animals (AKA, a Tea Party member).

This is in stark contrast to Fox News’ idea for handling street begging. Last week, John Stossel posed as a homeless man and collected change from kind-hearted people who passed him on the sidewalk. He said he made about $11 per hour, and therefore nobody should donate to homeless people, because they might not even BE homeless. Because… they might be John Stossel in disguise? I don’t know. It was their usual shitty poor-hating bullshit.

So: pairing puppies with people to end shelter overcrowding AND begging = all-around good idea. Fox News having people pose as homeless beggars to expose people posing as homeless beggars = more heartless bullshit from the GOP’s PR agency.