Look at this bullshit. I grew up always being told to look at panhandlers shoes to see how worn they are, as well as (if close enough) their hands. if their hands don't look worked, no fucking dice.
that being said, there are some rare times when I believe in charity in this regard. last fall, i saw a couple of bums panhandling on a traffic island (man and woman). i wasn't too skeptical as their (you guessed it) dog looked to be in rough shape. i paid for the dog to get a veterinary check up and a round of treatment for the mange it had contracted. that dog should be in different hands, but there's not much i could do about that.