TORONTO

A homeless woman says she’s willing to give up “her hope” — a brown and black mix, named Lucky — if it means providing the dog with a better life.

A Toronto Police officer tweeted a picture Tuesday of Heather Markle sitting on the wet sidewalk at Yonge and College Sts. with the message she was willing to sell her pet.

“Heather needs $250 to pay ‘rent’ today so she can keep (a) safe spot to sleep. Willing to sell her dog,” Const. Scott Mills posted on Twitter.

In an interview, Markle said she has ovarian and breast cancer and was forced onto the streets after a battle with drugs and alcohol.

“(Lucky) is the only thing I have not lost, or had taken from me,” said Markle, who had her dog covered with a blanket as it rested beside her on the sidewalk.

“As much as I don’t want to say this, he could be better off with somebody other than me,” she said. “Because of where I am.”

Markle added a passerby recently offered to pay as much as $2,500 for her pet. But the man didn’t show up after agreeing to meet her with the cash the following day.

When he was a puppy, Markle relied on a friend to keep the dog in a hotel room at night. But now that Lucky is fully grown, he’s too large to stay at the hotel, which does not allow pets.