With many of us working from home during this period of quarantine and social distancing, we are not the only ones having to adapt to this new dynamic. Our pets are wondering why we are spending so much time with them and might even be acting a little bit different.
Our new “co-workers” are not used to having us around as much and don’t know when we are on a phone call or a video conference so the occasional bark or meow is now commonplace. During these challenging times, having a pet can be a great distraction in addition to having a positive affect to our well-being. Walking the dog or playing with cats can be a nice break from how much time we are spending at home and working.
Amid endless news about the tragic effects of COVID-19 comes a silver lining – the demand for fostering and adopting pets has increased significantly. Petfinder.com, an online database for those looking to adopt animals, saw a boost of 116 percent in their inquiries in the second half of March.1 And for the first time, an animal shelter in Florida saw every dog in one of its kennels adopted. The shelter credits extra time people have to take care of pets because of the pandemic. Employees and volunteers could be seen cheering and clapping in a video shared at the sight of the empty kennel at Friends of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control in the city of West Palm Beach.2
Thanks to social media, people posting pictures of their pets “assisting” them at work has skyrocketed. In the hopes that this will bring some joy, we are following along and sharing photos of some of our furry friends in this week’s blog. They sure have put smiles on our faces during this difficult time.
1https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/4/28/21232763/dog-cat-adoption-foster-coronavirus-quarantine
2https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/florida-dog-kennel-emptied-1st-time-covid-19-pet-adoptions-soar