During the long, nearly six month period of isolation many faced during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, lots of people felt hopelessly alone, spending long evenings locked in empty homes with no one to keep them company. Looking back, it is evident that to combat this crippling loneliness, many people adopted pets. As the long months of isolation continued dragging on and on, more and more people decided to adopt pets. The reason for this is relatively simple. As the pandemic continued, people continued having to stay inside to stay safe. As people stayed inside, people started getting more and more lonely. With a furry (or non-furry) friend in the house, the day feels less empty, less alone. Plus, especially with the aimless nature of staying inside all day, caring for a pet can make people feel a renewed sense of purpose. But some people are not responsible enough to take care of their pets…
So, many pets were adopted during the quarantine. That’s great right? Yeah! But, many pets were also being abandoned. Some adopted pets for the sole purpose of having companionship during the lockdown and nothing else. These people, who adopted pets only for the novelty, often overlooked the other side of having an animal friend in the house. The responsibility. A child asks their parents for a cat. Her parents shut her down, telling her that having a pet is a huge responsibility, one that she is not ready for yet. Sound familiar? Probably, as it’s a very common spiel that parents always seem to go on when confronted with the topic of adopting a pet. Both in real life, and in media, the speech always seems to follow a kid’s plea for a pet. As much as it may seem to kids that parents are saying this just to shut down their begging, this speech is parroted often because it is true. If you own a pet, you probably know the work that goes into caring for them. Feeding them, throwing out their waste, checking on them often, taking them on walks, etc. Pets are not toys that one throws away after getting bored of, they have feelings, and being returned can hurt them emotionally. Even worse, pets who are returned have a much lesser chance of being adopted again.
When asked about the responsibility of taking care of his pug, SRA Junior, Benny Camou said, “I take care of Coco [his pug] as if she were a human… there’s a lot of responsibilities. It’s like raising a baby.”
It’s awful that the boom in pet adoptions caused some pets to be abandoned, but it’s not all bad. In fact, much more good came from the 2020 pet boom than bad. Most people who adopted pets were aware of the responsibilities, and gave their pets loving homes. Some of these now pet owners may have been debating over whether they should get a pet, before the lockdown came around and convinced them. At the end of the day, thanks to the pet boom caused by COVID-19, more pets have loving homes. And that’s a win overall.
