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2020-03-16
A Year of Workspaces
When lockdown started, I was quarantining with my husband, our 2.5 year old daughter, and our elderly cat, Floofy. This series of images captures a year of my workspaces (March 16, 2020 to March 15, 2021). I worked all over our house. The living room when I was on kid duty. The porch when the weather was warm enough. A brand new desk when the porch got too hot. The bedroom when my husband, who had been laid of in March 2020, needed the desk to job hunt and eventually began doing off and on temporary work in December 2020. I returned to the office some of the time in September 2021. My husband is now fully employed again. Our daughter returned to pre-school in September 2020. Floofy died in January 2022. She had attended every work meeting with me. -
2020-12-18
HIST30060 The importance of pets during the pandemic
State-sanctioned restrictions changed the way in which individuals/groups were able to process emotional experiences, such as grief. Our family dog –Bonnie – was a saving grace during lockdown. She was my “quarantine buddy” and made each day a little brighter. My family went through a tough time around Christmas; Bonnie was becoming progressively sicker, and we had to make the decision to put her down. When we arrived at the vet clinic, we discovered that our family who had attended – Dad, Mum, my brother, myself and my grandparents – could not all wish her farewell together; only two of us were allowed in the waiting room with Bonnie at once, due to COVIDSafe density limits. My parents went in together, and then my grandparents, and then my brother and myself. I’m glad that my brother and I got to share the experience of saying goodbye together; Bonnie was a fundamental part of our childhoods, thus we shared a similar type of grief. However, the ability to farewell this member of our family as a family unit was impacted by COVID-19. Pictured is a “Snapchat” of Bonnie that I sent to my friends, and a picture of her at the clinic. -
2021-05-10
HIST30060: Helping Me Study
This is photograph shows one of my dogs, Elfie, sitting next to where I study for university during the pandemic. She and her sister, Bowie, would fall asleep next to me and keep me company. Often, they would help keep me motivated when I was struggling by hassling me back to the table. It is easy to look back over the past two years and look at the negatives, however, it is moments like the one depicted in the picture which help remind me that there were positive moments too. -
2021-10-17
Fish Food
Since the Pandemic began and I was moved to remote work I have been spending more time than ever in my apartment. I bought some house plants to liven up my humble abode but they are easy to care for and don't do too much other than exist. I was looking to get a pet to occupy some of my time but unfortunately my building does not allow for cats or dogs, so I went for a fish friend as the lease was ambiguous towards fish. In college my roommate had two fish tanks and cared for them very well. The fish were always big hits with house guests and caring for them seemed easy enough. It was with this in mind that I purchased a male betta fish, which I named Tarzan after the drug smuggler Ludwig Fainberg from the documentary "Operation Odessa" which I highly recommend. However caring for a betta fish is not as simple as I initially thought. Yet with the help of the internet and all its wisdom I was able to do enough research and find exactly what I needed to make my tank as comfortable as possible for Tarzan. I purchased a five gallon tank along with, a filter, a heater (betta fish like it warm), gravel, a background poster, a pagoda, live plants, a net, a gravel pump for cleaning, ph chemicals, a large moss rock and of course fish food. He gets fed twice a day, once in the AM and once in the PM. The tank needs to be cleaned at least once a month and the filter is changed during that process as well. Every time I crack open his food my nose is greeted by a distinct fish food smell that is unmistakable and equally unpleasant. While I do not think that it would be impossible to care for Tarzan if I was still going into the office every day, it is definitely easier now that I am home more often. Cleaning the tank takes about an hour and can get smelly at times depending on how long it has been since its last cleaning. Without the current work from home situation brought on by the pandemic I would not have considered owning any type of pet that I would have to care for on a daily basis. The average lifespan of a betta fish is between three to five years, hopefully with enough care Tarzan can live to the full five and see the other side of the pandemic. -
2021-10-04
TV Buddy
With the pandemic still raging on, more nights are spent at home with pets and family... So much so that sometimes it seems that our pets develop favorite TV Shows to watch with us... ! -
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. -
2020-11-18
How COVID has changed my home life
The initial stages of COVID were almost surreal. I was in Key West, Florida when I first got the email from my college that we were going to be all online from mid-March to the end of the Spring 2020 semester. This carried into the Fall semester and that changed how my girlfriend and I were going to live. We decided that if we are going to be at home all the time we need a place big enough for us to separate our bedroom and our school stuff. So we moved from Fenway’s backyard to Somerville and from a studio apartment to a one bedroom. Instantly everything felt better. There was space for all of our stuff, we were able to spread out, and most importantly, we were able to get a dog. We previously had two cats but having an animal that needs to go outside and see the light of day more than once a week has made everything easier. It forces my girlfriend and I to take breaks from the mountains of school work we have and it gets us out of the house for more than just spending money or making money. Finally we got our second dog and she has made life even better because now our dogs get to play together and we get to go out more often to places like dog parks without having to worry about other people and their dogs being there. In the picture you can see Oakley (grey and first child), Tucker (orange and second child), Millie (blue Pitbull mix and third child), and Zoe (white and brown Pitbull mix and fourth child). These little creatures have made everything worth it. Without the pandemic I would not be able to say that I am as blessed as I am now to have four adopted animals that I get to call my world. -
2020-10-24
Covid: Concerns over 'dogfishing' and abandoned pets
With COVID-19 lockdowns, many people are seeking pets for company. Smugglers, however, are taking advantage of this by selling smuggled dogs for large amounts of money. There has also been an uptick in the number of dogs abandoned due to various reasons including financial struggle. -
2020-08-26
Grandpa & Gracie
I’ve missed my Grandpa terribly, but we’ve able to bond during the pandemic through a continuous email exchange concerning my dog. I’ll send him photos, and he’ll help me conspire ways to keep her safe from falling in our pool. We’ve been able to connect through our shared love of Gracie, even though we haven’t seen him or my Grandma for months. It’s been one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had in this plague year, especially because Grandpa is mostly deaf and can’t communicate well in person. It’s interesting how technology (and Gracie!) have facilitated connection between us. For a nonagenarian, he’s probably more proficient with technology than I am! -
2020-07-10
New Arrivals
HIST30060 Perhaps the most unexpected event in 2020 (bushfires and pandemic aside) for my family was the arrival of a proud mother duck with ten tiny ducklings. They’ve declared dominion over our pool and taken up permanent residence. I think it’s been cathartic for everyone to watch them grow and spread their wings – literally! The ducklings are just one of a number of new arrivals. We’ve also had currawongs, cockatoos, pigeons, doves, magpies and butcherbirds. They come and chill in the backyard, and mum makes sure they’re appropriately fed and watered. We think that we’ve had so many newcomers to our menagerie because of the bushfires at the start of the year, which destroyed a lot of natural habitat. But we also think the pandemic has played a role: with so many people spending all their exercise/recreational time in parks and nature reserves, disturbed birds have fled for greener pastures. I think it’s important to divorce ourselves from our own experiences of the plague year and consider how the pandemic has affected the natural world around us. We’re not alone in confronting change, and it would be selfish to only consider human experiences. -
2020-09-26
Family Fights
HIST30060 My family is pretty large: I have two brothers, a sister….and a whole menagerie of animals! Gracie dog is the best, but we also have another dog, several cats, a rabbit, and a variety of feathered friends. My siblings live interstate, so we’ve been barred from seeing them since February because of border restrictions. During lockdown, we’ve been keeping in touch by having consistent arguments on our family group chat about how to rank our pets from best to worst. My brother frames it like a ‘best and fairest medal’, as you’d receive in sport. The conversations remind me of when we all used to live together at home, and they’ve provided a nice reprieve from more ominous discussions about the pandemonium enveloping society. I think the notion of ‘reprieve’ is central to the power of animals in this plague year: they distract us from our pandemic woes and force us to take a sabbatical from our anxieties. -
2020-09-01
Digital Barkive
HIST30060 I created an Instagram account during Victoria’s first lock-down to chronicle my experiences with my dog during the pandemic. It’s from Gracie’s perspective and purely for fun, but I think it also represents a rudimentary ‘barkive’ with insight into how ‘stay-at-home’ mandates provided refreshed impetus to interact with our furry friends and rely upon them for comfort and companionship. -
2020-07-21
Pets in the Pandemic
HIST30060 It’s been difficult not seeing friends and family, but one stalwart of this year has been Gracie: my beautiful four-legged companion. Gracie’s been a source of much needed support this year, accompanying me on my daily allotted exercise and stopping for regular belly rubs. She’s cut through the pandemonium and provided me with a constant supply of love and laughter. I think pets have outperformed themselves this year, especially when human connection has been sparse due to restrictions. ‘History from below’ might not literally mean below knee-level, but I think considering the experience of pets during the pandemic will be a valuable avenue of historical enquiry. -
2020
Inside and Outside, At Home, Spring 2020 Semester, Brooklyn
This submission interweaves the personal and professional experiences of an associate professor in the Brooklyn College Library with references to events happening in the larger society during the months of the COVID-19 pandemic through early October 2020. -
2020-10-17
Meet Ellie! The Pandemic Pup!
This is my beautiful pup, Ellie! Ellie’s story with my family and I begun on March 19, 2020, when my mother and I picked her up from my dad’s fire station. March 19th was an important date for my family. Not only did this beautiful girl enter our lives then, but it was also the first full day of restaurant closures during the pandemic, my school had announced its intention to continue virtually for the remainder of the semester, my birthday had just passed, and COVID-19 loomed over our daily lives, its shadow growing with each passing day. And then, there was Ellie! Ellie is such a joy in my family’s life! She is beyond sweet, unbelievably adorable, incredibly fun, and an awesome companion. It has been a real joy to watch Ellie grow up during this difficult time for our world. Her life has been like a ray of sunshine in an overcast world. I enjoy going on walks with her and my mother at the park, visiting with her on the couch and floor, watching her jump in the pool during a hot day, and of course playing fetch in the backyard with her favorite orange tennis balls. Watching Ellie grow and mature into such a beautiful dog has been a true gift to my family and me during the COVID-19 pandemic. No matter what's going on in the world, Ellie always makes my day better. -
2020-05-05
Quarantine ferrets
For the longest time, I had been wanting ferrets. I had talked about them all the time, not only at home to my mom but also to my friends at school as well. My mom finally gave in and we had planned to drive out to a place for me to adopt two ferrets. But when COVID struck, my mom pushed it off and said we'd have to wait. Eventually, I found someone selling their ferret on craigslist. He was the cutest thing and I named him Bean. I loved him more than anything and would spend all my free time either playing with him or napping with him. I knew I needed to get him a friend since they are very social animals. So I did just that about a month and a half later my dad and I went to get Bean a friend. We got a little shy fella, and I named him Turtle, soon enough he opened up and was very playful and frisky. They kept me busy during quarantine and made my life a whole lot more fun. But then three months after I got Bean I noticed his energy decreasing. He wasn’t playing that much and was sleeping more than normal. He seemed very weak and even when he seemed like he wanted to play he couldn’t. I was very worried about him and knew something was wrong. We took him to the vet and found out he had leukemia. This was heartbreaking because I assumed we had years together. But he was getting weaker by the hour as his bone marrow stopped creating red blood cells. This was the most heartbreaking day of my life as my first real pet, my first baby, was dying. Turtle and I went to say goodbye. And even though everything seemed to be going downhill, when one door closed another one opened. The vet said he had a ferret that he didn’t have time for and who he was looking to re-home. Even though another ferret could never take the place of Bean but I knew Turtle would need a friend as a few days later I could already tell he was getting lonely and with school approaching I wouldn’t have as much time to be his playmate. A week after Bean was put down we took in the ferret, I renamed him Astro. These ferrets have done much more than keep me busy during quarantine, they have kept me sane. Bean: March 27th-June 27th, 2020 Turtle: May 5th, 2020 Astro: July 2nd, 2020 -
04/06/2020
Meme about Working from Home. Includes Pets.
We are all adjusting to the working from home environment, including our pets. This is a meme about working at home from the family dog's point of view. #livingathome, #workingfromhome, #remoteworking, #dogs, #pets,# coronavirus, #quarantine #ASU #HST580