Well, he came to Giles' house, he became a Scoobies' familiar because of the chip. He couldn't count on demons and vampires to help him. Harmony didn't feed him when he asked. He begged the Scoobies to help him, they fed him and kept him with them . It was the first step, but without the chip he wouldn't have been thrown in their lives, in Giles' home.

And then "Something Blue" happened...