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Pandemic Pets
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2021-01-16
12.6 million households have welcomed new 'pandemic pets' into the home
This story from Good Morning America talks about how 12.6 million households got new pets during the pandemic. Now some of those pets are not used to being alone. An expert trainer, Eric Ita, gives tips for pups with separation anxiety and other advice for dog owners. -
2020-04-19
The call has been answered
The article discusses the surge of pet adoptions from shelters during the pandemic. -
2021-07-03
A Dog's Tale
This is Hannah aka Hannah Banana. My husband and I adopted her May 4, 2013 from a rescue in St. Catherine's, ON. We live just over the border in Buffalo, NY. Hannah is a purebred Sheltie (Shetland Sheepdog), but purebred gone wrong. She is what is called a double merle. That means an irresponsible breeder bred two merle coated dogs together, which results in 25% of the litter being born deaf, primarily white in color, and with eye problems or missing eyes altogether. Hannah was approximately 4 years old at the time. The previous owners who surrendered her had had her for 2 years. They had adopted her from a shelter that had picked her up as a stray. Hannah was our 2nd double merle (we also have an Aussie with the same problem), so we were used to the unique problems associated with deaf and vision impaired dogs, but Hannah came with many more from a history of abuse and neglect. One of her biggest issues was that she was absolutely terrified of people, particularly men, and she hated small children. We worked with a trainer, we did agility twice a week, and did barn hunt once a week. She broke out of her shell a lot, but did not lose her fear of people. In 2016 my husband and I had our first and only child, Charlotte. Hannah was very aggressive towards her. She would bark and snap at her. We had to keep her separated a lot, and we worried about what the future would bring. She got a bit better when Charlotte could walk, but not to a comfort level. Once Charlotte was about 3, Hannah accepted that she was a human in the house but wanted nothing to do with her. She didn't really want to have much to do with any of us or our other dog except for at agility class. She wouldn't play with us and only tolerated petting for a short while. Fast forward to 2020. While COVID-19 was cause fear, anxiety, and depression in people, for Hannah it was just what she needed. After a few months, she became a whole new dog. Having all three of her humans home 24/7 seemed to alleviate a lot of her fears and anxieties. She completely bonded with Charlotte. She actually plays with her and snuggles with her and sleeps in her bed. Who knew this 12-year-old dog just needed constant companionship to heal her old wounds. Luckily, my career path changed during the pandemic (I am going back to school to pursue a PhD) and so I will continue to be home a lot of the time. While COVID did bring devastation to people across the world, for one little dog it was just the medicine she needed. -
2020-04-10
Thanks to Sheltering in Place, Animal Shelters Are Empty
This article discusses the animal adoption trend in the United States during the pandemic. Some shelters find themselves completely empty, which is a dream come true for animal lovers. On the flip side, there are families in crisis, particularly in large cities, that have been forced to give up their pets. Fortunately, with so many foster and adoptive families on waiting lists, these pets won't be going to shelters for any length of time. -
2020-09-02
Pandemic Pets: Reader's Stories. The Seattle Times
In this heart-warming article. Readers share pictures of and blurbs about the pets they adopted during the pandemic. Dr. Fauci the cat with a bow tie is particularly apropos. -
2020-04-09
How pets help people cope during a pandemic
This article talks about the numerous health benefits that scientific studies have proven we get from pet ownership. During the pandemic, those health benefits are more important than ever. Given that there is no evidence that people can get COVID from their animal companions, interacting with your pet is a fun, easy, and safe way to stay healthy and happy during the pandemic. -
2020-11-24
Human–dog relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic
A study done in Israel looks at the relationship between humans and dogs during the pandemic. The study finds that, like in the United States, there was a significant increase in dog adoptions in Israel during the pandemic. They also found a direct correlation between the mental health of the owner and the perceived quality of the life of the dog. -
2021-05-31
No, People Are Not Returning Pandemic Dogs in Droves
This article explains that we should not be alarmed by the headlines that state that pandemic pets are returning to shelters as their owners return to work. The numbers just don't support that supposition. While abandonment rates are on the rise, they appear to simply be returning to pre-covid rates. -
2020-07-16
How Have Pet Birds Been Affected by Covid-19?
Northern Parrots, a bird blog and store in the UK, writes that pet owners are worried that their feathered babies could contract COVID-19. All the evidence shows that is highly unlikely. The blog post also mentions that birds are also affected by lockdown and quarantine in both positive and negative ways. One positive is that their owners are spending more time at home. On the flip side, favorite friends and visitors aren't coming to visit, and sometimes it is hard to find the foods they want. The article mentions Madeira cake, but in my personal experience it was often difficult to find fresh organic produce for awhile. The article goes on to talk about parrot conservation during the pandemic, particularly in Central America. There are fears that people out of work may turn to poaching as a resource for quick cash. Also a beloved ornithologist, Luis Fernando Díaz Chávez, who was important to Paso Pacifico's conservation efforts passed away from COVID-19. -
2020-03-15
COVID-19 And Pet Birds
As a parrot owner, I was initially concerned at the start of the pandemic that the virus could be transferred to my avian companions. While I know that viruses are often species-specific, mutations can allow them to jump species. Birds have incredibly delicate respiratory systems, so a respiratory illness in a bird is often deadly. This article from bird food producer Lafaeber explains why caution is warranted by not panic. It is now more than a year since this article has been written, and I am no longer concerned about my parrots catching COVID-19. I belong to many bird groups on social media and have yet to hear of a pet bird who caught the disease. -
2021-05-31
Pandemic pets: Pet shops seeing more abandoned reptiles
Pet shops in Charlotte, NC report that alongside the increased demand for exotic pets, there has been an uptick in animal abandonment as well. The pet shop in this article reported that the number of rescue calls they received doubled during the pandemic. Exotic animals abandoned outside raise environmental concerns. If some manage to survive the winter, they could pose a threat to native wildlife. -
2021-02-02
Exotic Pets and Reptile Gain Popularity in Australia
According to the article, Australia is experiencing an increase in exotic pet popularity during the pandemic. With people having more time and resources, the demand for pets, in general, is on the rise. The fear of reptiles exhibited by Generation X is not there in younger generations, so demand for these cool and unusual creatures is on the rise. -
2020-05-14
US Market for Pet Reptiles During the Pandemic
According to the report, during the pandemic, the market increased for pet reptiles. For families not wanting to take on the expense or space requirements of a dog or cat, but looking for an entertaining companion, reptiles make a great choice. They are allergy-friendly as well. The writer of the article anticipates that the trend in pet reptiles will only continue to increase in the years to come. -
2021-02-04
Exotic Birds Rescued During the Pandemic
As a parrot owner myself, this story is near and dear to my heart. Amid the national news headlines of dog and cat adoptions sweeping the nation during the pandemic, the opposite is true for our feathered friends. Parrots require a great deal of time, care, money, and space. Most birds easily outlive dogs and cats, and the larger ones often outlive their owners. Parrots can be loud, demanding and messy. They don't respect that you are in a zoom meeting with the CEO or that your neighbor's baby is asleep in the apartment on the other side of the wall. With people working from home, losing income, and/or being hospitalized or passing away from COVID-19, many parrots have been surrendered to rescues. -
2020-11-09
Pupside to the Pandemic
This adorable story uses the example of a neighborhood in Rosemount, Minnesota to demonstrate the trend of families adopting dogs during the pandemic. In this neighborhood, 17 puppies were adopted by 17 families living within 3 blocks of each other, with a surprise 18th at the end of the video. -
2021-05-08
US dog shelters struggle with returns after pandemic adoption boom - BBC News
This story from the BBC talks about how many dogs adopted during the pandemic are being returned to shelters once life returns to normal. Some adopters did not think ahead or understand all the implications of pet ownership. This is a traumatic experience for these poor animals. Also fewer dogs were neutered/spayed during the pandemic, so there is an uptick in the number of puppies needing homes. -
2020-09-12
Coronavirus and pets: How the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked an increase in pet adoption
This video talks about the shortage of available dogs for adoption in the United States during the pandemic. It describes the huge demand in the North East, California, etc. but packed shelters in the South. This is a trend that started long before the pandemic. Southern shelters are shipping dogs to shelters in the North for adoption. Millenials and Gen Z people want more pets and are willing to spend more money on their pets. This trend is expected to continue after the pandemic as more people negotiate with their employers to have non-traditional or hybrid work models. -
2020-05-22
Pet Adoption Protocol During the Pandemic - A Purr-fect Fit Animal Rescue
This is a social media post from A Purr-fect Fit Animal Rescue in Buffalo, New York explaining their covid procedure to potential adopters. -
2021-01-03
Ten Lives Club Eastern Hills Mall Adoption Success
This is a Facebook post from a rescue group that operates out of the local shopping mall. Even though the mall was closed during the pandemic, the group still managed to place 600 cats with their new furever families. -
2021-01-26
Running Out of Adoptable Pets
During the pandemic, shelters are having the best problem possible- there aren't enough homeless animals to meet the demand. It is a dream come true scenario for animal lovers everywhere. With more people working from home than ever before, families have more time to devote to a pet. Hopefully the trend will continue, and owners will not surrender their animals after life returns to normal. -
2020
Pet Adoption Statistics 2020
We heard so many wonderful and uplifting stories of pet adoption during the pandemic. If you wanted a dog, particularly a puppy, you most likely had to sit on a waiting list to get one. This anecdotal evidence points toward a huge increase in pet adoption, but what do the numbers tell us? This data report from PetPoint, who has been tracking pet surrender and adoption data nationwide since 2005, paints a slightly different picture. Pet surrenders reduced significantly, so there just weren't as many pets in need of adoption. Pet adoption percentages actually decreased in 2020 from 2019. So the pet adoption boon that we imagined was happening, was not the miracle story that animal enthusiasts were hoping for. As we emerge from the pandemic it will be interesting to look at the final report at the end of 2021 to see if there is a drastic increase in surrenders as many shelters are anticipating. -
2021-05-13
Pandemic Pets Return to Shelters
Sadly, as the nation returns to work and activities, pets adopted during the pandemic are paying the price. According to the article, owner surrenders are up more than 80% from this time last year. People did not think far enough ahead about what would happen once the pandemic was over. Now its the poor animals who have to pay the price. When will people learn that animals are not toys to be thrown away when it becomes inconvenient? -
2021-06-19
Pet Adoption Comic NPR
This comic is fun, engaging, and informative. It talks about the increase in pet adoption during the pandemic and how pets helped a lot of people deal with emotional trauma. It cautions would-be pet owners not to jump blindly into adopting and to think about what will happen when life returns to normal. Separation anxiety can be difficult for pets to deal with, and owners need to have a plan for that. -
2021-06-20
Comfort Food Redefined
I spent the first few weeks of the pandemic and subsequent banishment to my home by my workplace eating bag after bag of potato chips. Something about crunching down on food was calming to me. I didn’t eat a lot of other food; when I am stressed, my digestive system is the first body part to put up a fuss, so besides the therapeutic potato chips, I didn’t feel much like eating. I don’t own a scale and didn’t feel that I was putting on weight, but one day I looked at my dog, who was the recipient of the chips I had dropped on the floor, and thought to myself that he if had gained weight. I made the leap in thought that if he had gained weight, perhaps I had too. I had to redefine my notion of comfort food from fatty food that crunched to food that truly comforted both my digestive system and my nervous system. This food was comprised of roasted veggies (to get that crunch!); veggie, protein powder, and fruit smoothies to give me the nutrients to deal with pandemic stress; and nuts and fish such as salmon for omega-3 fatty acids to counteract inflammation, fight depression, and nourish those brain cells so necessary to deal with all the changes required by the pandemic. All these changes in my daily food menu have had a massive and positive effect on me. I’m calmer, my intestines aren’t complaining, and I have more energy. And, I've maintained a health weight. I haven’t gained weight. Before the pandemic, I hated to cook and mostly just ate to survive without paying much attention to what I was putting in my body. The pandemic and its accompanying stress forced me to realize that the quality of one’s life is truly related to the quality of one’s food choices. Healthy food is truly comfort food. -
2021-06-03
A Pet Emergency During the Pandemic
The story describes the difficulties of dealing with emergencies during the pandemic time and how social isolation negatively affects one's ability to weather these emergencies. -
05/03/2021
Jeff Foster Oral History, 2021/05/03
Elizabeth Hathorn interviews Jeff Foster, a college student and member of the U.S. Army. He discusses the effects of COVDI-19 on college classes and on military training. He also touches on a few other aspects of life during the COVID-19 quarantine. -
2020-07-24
My New Cat
I took this picture on the day I got my cat Birdie. This was last July, and it was the first time I had gone out to do something with my whole family since the start of the pandemic. This was great because it gave my whole family and my dog Buck someone new to look after as well. -
05/03/2021
Josiah Collinge Oral History, 2021/05/03
The interview describes the life of a young adult before the pandemic and how it changed during and after the pandemic. It also discusses the significance of the pandemic to him and those around him. -
2020
Facemasks: Artistic and Everyday
Wearing facemasks was very new to us and it was always strange to see people walking around with them. People offered tips, sewing patterns, and even artistic portraits with masks as a theme. As many of us felt isolated, people offered to walk by our windows and wave. -
2021-05-09
Boston Lockdown
The JFK Library and Museum closed during the shutdown and I lost the best job I ever had. I graduated Boston University without a ceremony. I spent my first year in grad school on zoom. I ended up living with my 2 adult siblings and my parents who were either working virtually or not at all. I decided that I would take the time at home to learn things that I had always intended to, mostly because I didn't want to lose my mind. I baked bread, lots of bread: challah, bagels, cinnamon rolls, babka and more. I knit a complicated sweater. I sewed masks for my friends and I played games with my family. I research and organized 7 generations of my family's pictures, documents, videos and newspaper clippings. I started growing vegetables and flowers and I watched hundreds of English Premier Soccer games. The most fun I had was hanging out with my dog. For Halloween I made he and I costumes from the movie Rear Window. I feel like I did my best to survive the Plague, I am proud of all I was able to accomplish and I have more good memories than I thought was possible. I appreciate the normal things I took for granted pre-pandemic and I look forward to the end. -
2020-07-15
Pandemic Pet
This is Tiger, the cat we adopted during the pandemic. Our only pet had been a single goldfish but since we had more time to be home, we added a kitten to our family. Tiger has provided great emotional support to us all and has become an important part of remote teaching. He sleeps on the bed behind me during Google Meets and Zoom calls. -
2021
Covid-19 in the background of life
I have a lot of photos taken in this spot. Our animals and children are cute and tend to hang out on the sofa. I was scrolling back through my online albums and noticed something the background of my photos from the last year all have in common. The tote bag hanging off the closet door is for used masks as we come in. The little table across the stairs is our home PPE station. It wasn’t there a year ago. The baskets are filled with cloth masks of various sizes and styles (it took a lot of trial and error to find masks that fit both kids) and the drawer has a touchless thermometer, among other things. The top has wipes, hand sanitizer, and a UV phone sanitizer that was on back order for months before it arrived. We will always be able to identify the year these photos were taken thanks to a collection of stuff I couldn’t imagine having eighteen months ago. I wonder how long it will stay? -
2021-03-09
#JOTPYSilver from ellie.craft
#jotpysilver my silver lining was that i got to get a kitty and spend lots of time with her. -
2021-03-16
#JOTPYPhoto from Katy Kole de Peralta
Working from home w/ Dora the Bulldog Explorer -
2021-01-17
Betty White says she's celebrating 99th birthday in quarantine
LOS ANGELES -- The legendary Betty White turns 99 today, and like many others this year, she is planning a birthday in quarantine. White recently spoke with "Entertainment Tonight" about how she will spend the start of her last year as a nonagenarian. "What am I doing for my birthday?" she said. "Running a mile each morning has been curtailed by COVID, so I am working on getting The Pet Set re-released, and feeding the two ducks who come to visit me every day." -
2020-03-30
quarantine puppy
My family ended up adopting a puppy right at the start of quarantine in March. This led to two things, first a source of joy and distraction while stuck at home, and two, a puppy with a LOT of separation anxiety. I am a person who struggles greatly with mental health and I can say with much confidence that quarantine would have been extremely difficult had it not been for my dog. My dog is actually now in the process of being trained to be a therapy dog for schools and I am happy to have been the first person she could help. I think there is something to be aid however about getting a dog during a pandemic. They get really confused now when their humans are no longer home very moment of the day, and I suppose I feel thee same way to some extent. -
2021-03-29
From California to Pennsylvania over 2020-2021 New Years
This is a 40-minute video that documents, in an entertaining manner, a couple and their cat going on a road trip across the United States during the pandemic (New Years 2020-2021). They began their journey from their house in Los Angeles, California towards their destination of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a matter of 6 days (3000 miles). They shared their experience going state to state, along with the precautions they took while doing so. As the title of the video suggests, “We Moved Across The Country,” they did end up moving to North Carolina. So this video covers what road travel was like as well as moving during the pandemic. -
2021-02-25
Finding a friend
When I found out I had COVID it put me in a dark place since I couldn't hang out with my friends and I couldn't see my parents for 16 days. So I realized that when I was here I would try to find a forever friend and I ended up adopting my cat named Millie. From a bad thing and a bad place came a good thing with a new and lifetime friend. -
2020-03-17
Covid Kitty
Meet Covie my kitty - short for Covid 19. He was born March 17th 2020 right at the start of the pandemic quarantine hence the name Covie. Covie kept me company during my battle with the Corona Virus. Luckily I didn't have it to bad. I was so afraid Covie would get it and besides he was just a baby. As time went on I slowly, very slowly got better. Covie was fine too. He was a rambunctious kitten but is slowing down a little just like the virus is slowing down. God bless my little Covie -
2021-02-17
#JOTPYPhoto from Gina Heart exclamation
Staying home cuddling with my dog = work @mollyc @mollycho @Gee_La_Dou @edgartoo12 @Lightskill1 -
2021-02
#JOTPYSilver submission from Tanya Blakeley-Clark
@ms.tanya.b.c I have had enough time at home to get my new house in order and adopt a rescue pup who spent two years in a shelter. #jotpysilver @derek.clark.330 @alexmikkelborg @hannahcake2012 @cassandrak15 @nicoleblakeleylewis -
2021-02-25
Longing to go Outside
Like people, my dog seems to miss going out to public spaces (like an out door mall, hiking, the patio of a restaurant, even the Pima Air and Space Museum) and getting attention from all the humans that pass by. He too is missing out on the social experiences that he used to enjoy before the pandemic. -
2021-02-08
#JOTPYSilver submission from Brianna Walker
One silver lining is that I got a puppy, (along with pretty much every millenial during this time), but he's a great cuddle buddy and a source of so much joy ❤ @covid19archive1 #JOTPYsilver -
2020-02-19
Silver Linings Oral History with Steven Bell
Silver Linings Oral History_ Steven Bell Interviewee: Steven Paul Bell Interviewer: Dana Lee Bell Date of Interview: 02/19/2021 Location of interviewee: Rogue River, Oregon Location of Interviewer: Fairfield, California Transcriber: Dana Lee Bell Abstract: This interview was for the Silver Linings mini oral history project within the JOTPY archive. The interviewer Dana Lee Bell is an intern with the JOTPY archive and is also the daughter of the interviewee Steven Paul Bell. Steven is a wildlife artist residing in Oregon with his wife of 25 years. In the interview Steven talks about how it is nice spending time with family during Covid-19. He also talks of enjoying spending time alone walking and hiking with his dog. Steven had a hard time reflecting on the positive things to say about the Covid-19 experience. Steven Bell is the father of Dana Bell. He thought it very amusing to try and act more formal for the interview. -
2020-04-30
Won't You Be My Stranger
Before Covid-19 descended upon Chicago, Ukrainian Village was a neighborhood of friends and acquaintances. The threat of illness has suspended neighborly activities. The neighbor whose door this belongs to has a beagle named Molly I used to pet on her walks. Now Molly and I keep our distance, lest her owner or I get sick. It’s demoralizing not to be able to trust people, not because of any personal shortcoming, but because of the potential that one of our health be jeopardized. The status friend and acquaintance has been supplanted by temporary stranger. -
2020-12-02
Theatre Workshop presents: The Essential Bronx - COVID Stories, Part 1
We have preserved in this short film a selection of Theatre Workshop students' authentic experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and we want to share these stories with you. -
2021-02-07
Pet Love
During this pandemic, the love of our fur babies has become even more important. Our fur babies have become even more spoiled I feel since many of us are working from home, holding meetings via zoom, and overall being forced to be sequestered with our own four walls. The increase of adoption of pets has been seen nationwide and I can see why as they provide love, comfort, entertainment, and more. Pets have been studied and it is a known fact that they lower stress, increase people in the positive direction, keep people active, and have many more benefits. I feel very blessed to have my fur babies. This is important to document during the pandemic because pets are all part of the pandemic experience because they have been affected by COVID-19 as well. -
2020-12-31
The Luck of the COVID Draw
Throughout the pandemic, my family and I have been extremely careful as to not catch the virus. My mother made sure my brother and I always had little bottles of hand sanitizer with us when we went to work or to the grocery store, my mom had multiple masks in the car for herself at all times, and my dad has been social distancing from people since he was born, so he was well prepared to sit in the house in social isolation. Being in PA, Gov. Tom Wolf had just about everything shut down from December 2020 to the first week of January 2021, but despite this and all of the precautions my mother had made sure we all took, my brother had brought it home from work without realizing it. We all realized we were probably going to get it when my brother was sent home from his new job after getting tested for COVID. Honestly, we were all a bit surprised it had not happened earlier, as he used to work at a hospital, but from there, we all started dropping like flies. My mother started getting symptoms around New Years Eve and my father followed suit days later. At this point, I was terrified. All I could think of is how my mother is immunocompromised and that she had it, and that I myself am immunocompromised and I would be next. Worst of all, when I am home from college, I sleep on the couch due to damage in my old bedroom, so keeping myself away from these other people in my house would prove to be near impossible (hence the meme saying “I need to get out of here”). Even if I would have been able to isolate myself, they all felt too sick to take care of themselves or one another, so that job fell upon me. At this point, I am running around the house, trying not to breathe around my family in the last few weeks that I would be able to spend time with them before heading back to school, while also stressing about having to go back to school, as well as having to quarantine for additional time after my family’s quarantine was over. A couple weeks in I start to feel the early signs of COVID, headaches, body aches, coughing, the works. I went to get tested in an absolute panic as to what this would mean for my own health and how it would affect me going back to school, only to get back a negative test. The headaches? I have migraines. The body aches? Well, I sleep on a couch where the cushions come out from under me while I sleep, so you tell me. The cough? I have a cat and a dog that I am fairly allergic to but refuse to stay away from because they are so precious. How I, out of all of my family, was able to avoid getting COVID despite being the college kid with a weakened immune system who played nurse to 3 COVID patients is beyond me. This experienced that COVID is really a gamble. You may have everything against you and not get it, or you may have done everything you could possibly do to avoid it and still catch it. Regardless, I will continue to err on the side of caution and wear my mask and carry my mother’s hand sanitizer with me. -
2021-02-02
The Dog Days of the Pandemic
Teleworking due to the pandemic has resulted in a closer bond between me and my dog, who seems to be thrilled that I'm home all day to pay attention to him and has shared his joy with me to help me get through these dark days. -
2021-01-29
A Covid interview
it said how covid is impacting us. 1. How has the pandemic changed you? I have always known that humans are vulnerable but the pandemic has allowed me to feel each day how vulnerable we are and I am changed by this felt experience. Life has become more immediate and I think about safety in a more conscious way. 2. What has the pandemic brought with it? I don't understand this question... 3. Describe your experience over the past year in 3 words. Surprised, disciplined and curious. 4. What are some silver linings you have found in the past year? An abundance of family time, connecting with my cat, learning to paint, mastering pizza on the grill, deepening my yoga practice, less busy and alot less driving. 5. How has the pandemic emotionally impacted you? A whole range of emotions- sadness, grief, fear, disbelief, hope and concern.