Animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.”
–George Eliot
A growing body of research shows that we depend on animals for our general health and wellbeing. As people began to shelter in place, earlier this year, we’ve realized how much they depend on us as well.
“It’s fair to say animals miss people as much as people miss animals,” says Dan Ashe, president of the American Zoological Association. “In zoos, humans offer a form of sensory stimulus to other species. Without them, the penguins, pandas, elephants, chimpanzees, and even camels and meerkats seem a little bored. “The variety of smells that come through the zoo every day are enrichment for them. Their day is less interesting or varied without us.”
When deprived of human company, some species—particularly elephants and great apes—get a little needy, demanding extra attention from their caregivers. In May, handlers at Kansas City Zoo came up with a novel solution — they took three penguins to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum for a cultural infusion. “We’re always looking for ways to enrich their lives and stimulate their days,” Randy Wisthoff, the zoo director, said. “The penguins absolutely loved it.” The museum’s executive director, Julián Zugazagoitia, noted that the three Humboldt penguins “seemed to react much better to Caravaggio than to Monet.”
What do you mean by “renting a pet”?
We also refer to it as fostering. A person takes on a homeless pet on a temporary basis until a permanent owner can be found. Some shelters now allow you to take a pet short term if you’re temporarily out of work or otherwise homebound. We see a big increase in people fostering older dogs as well. That’s a bit different than adopting puppies. In most cases, older dogs present less of a challenge and adapt more easily to your home life. They are already acclimated to people and will need less care as their owners resume a normal lifestyle (whatever that will be). It’s easy to keep these pets happy and they provide wonderful companionship.
Do you see a rise in first-time pet owners, too?
People living alone or in unhappy home situations who may have never thought of having a pet before are fostering or adopting in recent months, to counteract the effects of social distancing. Before the Covid-19 health crisis people had the outside world as an escape from loneliness or stress. Since the total return to interactions with others is at best delayed for the time being, we expect this trend of pet adoption to continue. A friend has been fostering cats for a local shelter. She has become something of a local celebrity here. Now that the shelter has run out of adoptable cats and dogs, folks are approaching her offering to take her cats. Or, failing that, they are offering to care for them. Some buy food and gifts so they can visit the cats. People just need to be near animals right now because they bring us back to basics. Love. Touch. Emotional connection.
Do some people prefer their pets to their housemates? As shelter-in-place continued under COVID guidelines, we started hearing of increased preference for the pets! One of the sorry results of isolation has been the increase in domestic abuse charges and the impetus for divorce. While having a pet can help with the stress, there are those who will abuse anything — a spouse, a child, an animal — as their frustration builds. So that’s the negative fall-out.
What about pet care? Has this been more difficult of late?
During the lockdown, folks learned about the hazards of do-it-yourself grooming. There are countless pictures on social media sites showing pets with horrible buzz cuts and shocking pink toenails. This is what happens when people spend too much time at home. But as the country begins to reopen, things have gotten easier. Most people treat their pets like family members so there are many concierge services providing pet walking, pet sitting, grooming at home. One company will even come to scoop the poop off of your lawn if you are elderly or disabled—or just plain don’t want to do it. One of the things that I believe will keep people from returning their animals when they go back to work is the availability of these services. It almost like sending your young child to daycare while you resume something approaching “normal life.”
Are we buying more toys to keep our critters occupied so we can do our work at the dining room table?
Thanks to the internet, toys began to trend even before the pandemic. And right now we want to reward our pets a little more for all of the comfort they’ve been giving us. Some of us are overfeeding them. Others are giving them the opportunity to get high. My all-time favorite pet treat surfaced two years ago and has caught on like wildfire. It is called Meowijuana, a concoction based on catnip. If that’s the case, pet treadmills may be the answer. Some even let you walk the dog without spending too much effort while the dog’s part of the track keeps moving briskly. Great if you’re disabled, or not in as good shape as your dog. And perfect for the couch potato who just plain hates to get up and go.
Hi Valerie. Thank you for writing/sharing this. This gives me hope. As a longtime rescuer of dogs, I so appreciate all the stories about the ways we need animals and animals need us. LOVE the penguins at the zoo. Love knowing that more people are reaching out and sheltering animals in their home. Do you know Temple Hayes, the author of Life Rights? She also writes for 360 Nation.