a starving dog fears no stick
Proverb meaning that someone in desperate circumstances will take risks without fear of consequences. The literal image is of a hungry dog that does not fear being beaten.
Drowning in debt, he made a risky investment as if to say a starving dog fears no stick.
A classical Japanese proverb using the archaic attributive form 飢えたる (modern 飢えた). The exact origin is uncertain, but it reflects a common folk observation about desperation overcoming fear.