Allowing pets to accompany their humans inside might be a bigger advantage to their owners than Portland area shelter operators realize. A recent University of Southern California review of housing outcomes for people who stayed at homeless shelters in California between 2020 and 2024 found that those with pets moved into permanent housing at higher rates than those without animals. About one in five California shelter guests with pets moved into permanent housing in the four years researchers reviewed, compared to about one in 10 individuals without pets. Dr. Robert Mack, a retired veterinarian, thinks anything that can be done to help people of limited means hold onto their pets is to the good. He and his wife, also a veterinarian, work with Oregon Humane to offer regular pet vaccination clinics outside Blanchet House, a soup kitchen and transitional housing nonprofit in Old Town. The next free pet vaccination clinic will be held on April 3 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking...