The essentials fit in a suitcase (France, Gers)

In France, according to estimates by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and the SPA, between 10,000 and 15,000 homeless people currently live with a pet , often a dog . These companions, generally taken in at a very young age or adopted on the road, fulfill several roles: guard , emotional presence , relational engine , and sometimes indirect social protection , by arousing the empathy of the public.

Some care and shelter facilities still refuse entry to animals, forcing many owners to sleep outside to avoid abandoning them. In response, organizations like Gamelles Pleines and La Cloche organize distributions of veterinary food, free care, and sterilization campaigns.

The use of a suitcase as a bed , seen here in a town centre in the Gers, illustrates both the logic of ultra-portability of personal belongings among people on the move, and the fragility of the boundary between shelter and the street . The dog here becomes a symbol of attachment to the living , the ultimate fixed point in an unstable daily life.

This photograph was selected by the prestigious international gallery 1X.com, which recognizes works for their aesthetic and documentary value.