A Big Issue seller who says he's received abuse for looking “too well dressed” has been forced to abandon his 'expensive' dog.
Shaun Vagg has taken Japanese Akita Ronnie his with him to flog the street newspaper for years since overcoming a crack and heroin habit.
But he claims having his dog with him has led to abuse from members of the public.
He told Hull Live : “They basically think I’m too well dressed. All I want to do is change my clothes just like everyone else on the planet can do.
“And having the dog with me seems to invite them to give me abuse even more. I get people coming up to me and saying ‘I bet that cost you loads of money to pay for’.
“I don’t understand why they’re bothered about my costs.”
Shaun, who sells Big Issue North in Hull city centre, bought Ronnie almost ten years ago with money he earned as motivation to win his battle and improve his mental health.
It has also helped him improve his appearance, he says.
Shaun added: “My regular customers started cross examining me after a while saying ‘are you actually helping yourself Shaun?’ and ‘we've been buying these now for years and you still look like you’re not supporting yourself’.
“So I started to try to make a change to my appearance.”
Shaun wanted to show his customers that they are making a difference to his life.
But it quickly become a catch 22 situation.
“The better my appearance got the more stigma I got," he said.
“Why does anyone want to criticise me for not looking like I want to sleep outside? You should get recognition not abuse."
It’s a frustrating situation and Shaun was keen to highlight his critics’ hypocrisy.
“It’s alright for them to put themselves in a bath, get a shave and smell all pretty and change and get on a bus to town and say ‘you’re not homeless'.
“It’s okay for them to smell all pretty but then why should I have to smell of B.O. every single day?” he said.
On the front cover of every Big Issue is the slogan: "Working not begging."
Shaun has always been proud of his job and emphasises that selling the Big Issue is not the same as begging and should not always be equated to homelessness.
Shaun said that Ronnie was safe and healthy back at home but he won’t be bringing him out again anytime soon.
“People have their opinions but when my dog isn’t out here I haven’t been sworn at once,” he said.
