Jacob Mendoza, 29, has been on the streets for 13 years — 10 of them with his Lab mix, Whynot. They’re usually in Bushwick.

I probably would be dead if it wasn’t for Whynot: situations like somebody trying to hurt me and she was there to stop it, but also, if she wasn’t here I wouldn’t have given much thought about self-care.

On a good day people walking by give us 30 bucks. I have $5 to spend on myself and then I put $25 away in case Whynot needs to go to the vet.

I bought a huge bag of dog food before [the city shut down], so she’s been set.

Now I make like $7 a day. I save some, but I buy her treats, too. I’ve been getting the free lunches at schools — I mix the meat into her dog food.

— As told to Stephen Yang

Read more stories about saving animals during the coronavirus crisis.