Gambit was left tied up at the 16th Street BART plaza five months ago with a note, in Spanish, and a copy of his veterinary records. He was rescued by a plaza regular, and now spends afternoons with him people-watching on the corner of 16th and Valencia.
Gambit, a tan pitbull who is built like a tyrannosaurus rex, is still “angry,” about this past betrayal, his new guardian said. Pets from strangers are ill-advised. But Gambit snuggles his owner, keeping watch, whenever they sleep on the beds provided by the Gubbio Project. And when someone on the street tried to steal Gambit, his owner said, the dog found his way back.
Many people who rely on the social services offered around 16th and Mission Streets have pets — nearly all of them found on the street.
“I don’t know anybody on the street or homeless who would go to an adoption center,” said Pali Boucher, the founder of Rocket Dog Rescue. “They find them tied up, or skinny, or on the road.”
Boucher grew up homeless. Animals saved her life, she said. People who used to live on the streets of the Mission remember how Boucher introduced them to rescue work.
“These people that are out there on the street, they know that they really don’t have stability,” Boucher continued. “But when they see an animal that’s been abandoned they feel it, and they take them in.”
Blue was the runt of the litter. His mother was abandoned when her former owner went to rehab, so neighbors in the building adopted each of the puppies.
Now, the nearly-hairless chihuahua is eight years old. Only one week of Blue’s life has been spent without his owner, who relied on Animal Care and Control to keep the dog safe when he went to jail a few months ago. Now that his owner is out, the two once again go everywhere together — for visits to the Mission Neighborhood Resource Center for the Homeless, for permanent supportive housing check-in appointments. They’ll be together whenever Blue’s owner finally gets an apartment.
At the Division Center shelter earlier this year, Regina watched as another resident, a veterinary technician, unpacked her bags. Mewls came from one of them. Shortly after, out came a five-week-old kitten. The vet tech had found the kitten in a plastic ziplock bag on the bus beside an unconscious person, she told Regina. The person looked pretty drunk, she continued. So she took the kitten.
It was love at first sight. Regina named the little orange cat Alyssa.
When Regina decided she would rather live on the street with Alyssa than be without her in a shelter, Alyssa learned to ride around on her shoulder. When Regina has to panhandle, Alyssa prowls around their sign “like a little performer.” Regina once joked that cats are the anti-christ. No longer.
The duo are never without cat food — it’s offered just about every place they go, Regina said. Alyssa basically has her own “shrine.”
Regina can’t think of anyone she knows who didn’t rescue their pet. Her friends like to say their animals rescued them. “They rescued each other,” Regina concluded.
Capp Street
A man illustrates football players on a piece of styrofoam on Capp Street at 11:45 a.m. on Aug. 16, 2025. Photo by Abigail Van Neely. 
The Capp Street artist says little as he draws on Aug. 16, 2025. Photo by Abigail Van Neely. 
An hour later, the illustrator was gone from his Aug. 16, 2025 spot on Capp Street. His artwork was left behind on the sidewalk. Photo by Abigail Van Neely.
Northeast BART plaza
Southwest BART plaza
Weise Street
Julian Avenue
Caledonia Street
Any random day, come dark, Gubbio Project and the Huff N Puff Smoke shop around the corner are still a major draw for Fentanyl dealing and use, followed by the misery that comes with it. You still have to zig-zag the east side sidewalk on Mission off the BART plaza. The street scene has seemingly learned to simply ignore the cops, who for a few months now do little more than park their cars and flash their lights. The whole situation is stagnant and stuck in squalor-per-the-usual mode (if that’s a thing). The new non-profit they hired can be seen off-and-on. FWIW, not last night that I’d noticed.
What are they (the City) waiting for, what is the plan?