According to the Washington Post “Anyone who felt like, ‘I can’t adopt an animal because I’m at work all day’ is now finding they’re at home,” animal shelter director, Horowitz said. The question now is what happens when people go back to living regular lives post covid? Will there be more dogs in shelters as opposed to the recent rise in pet and specifically dog adoptions? There are dog shelters across America that are running out of pets for people to adopt, especially dogs.
During this pandemic people have been searching for love in different ways, and they have found it within compassionate and loving dogs. Many folks have adopted pets because they now have more time since people are now working from home or have more time. People are looking for things to wake up to during this mundane routine during the pandemic and social distancing. Finding deeper connections while we are on zoom and social distancing has made people consider getting a furry friend.
Dogs can give a legitimate reason to go outside. Pet parents, specifically dog parents, have the responsibility to walk their dogs and make sure they get enough exercise while socializing with other dogs and people. This can be a benefit of owning a dog during the pandemic because it gives people a reason to go outside and enjoy the outdoors.
Benefits of dogs during the pandemic:
- Companionship
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- They Keep us healthier
- Dogs help cope with Crisis
One of the drawbacks to so many adoptions is that shelters may see about half of the dogs adopted right back in the shelters. With the pandemic expected to end and regular work hours coming back to us, we can expect long work hours and a routine schedule. Unfortunately, dogs are a big responsibility and it’s difficult to take care of a dog while at work. Most employers will not allow pets on the job for many reasons. Thankfully, most shelters are preparing for the rise in dogs being given back, but they are thankful for the dogs being taken care of for now, even if it was just for a little while.
While people may start to go back to regular work schedules it is expected that a hybrid form of work may be in the works for at least the first year out of the pandemic giving dog owners the flexibility to plan for the future. This means either finding dog walkers, pet sitters, and also have the option of co-parenting a dog with other friends, family or people.
After the pandemic, the hope is that many people who have adopted dogs continue to give these dogs a happy, healthy and loving home
