Pandemic pups are popular, but could be trouble
Shelters across Canada seeing more adoptions as we’re stuck at home
There’s been a dog-shaped hole in my life for a long time.
I grew up in a family that always had a dog or two — they’re what I miss most about home (sorry, Mom).
So when the pandemic began, forcing my partner out of a job and me to work from home, we decided to do something we’ve been wanting to do for a while: Adopt a dog of our own.
It wasn’t going to be easy finding a dog that fit within our landlord’s parameters — 25 pounds or less, no puppies — and also fit within ours. We just aren’t tiny-dog people.
When we saw two dogs described as Shiba Inus on the site of a rural Alberta shelter, we decided it was worth the 2 ⁄ -hour drive to meet them.
One had already been adopted. The other was being carried across the farmyard to us: a tricoloured Shiba Inu mix with a content look on her face. We were told she had never been properly trained or exercised in her four to six years as a breeding dog. She was shedding a bit as her new coat came in.
The woman at the agency told us that while she had many families interested in adopting her dogs, she was concerned that not everyone knew what they were signing up for. After all, we’re not going to be home all day when this ends.
And she’s not the only one worried that adopted animals will flood back to shelters when their new owners go back to work.
We assured the woman that we knew what we were doing and didn’t plan on returning our new dog. On the drive home, we named her Beatrice.
A few days later, I called adoption agencies across the country and confirmed my suspicion that many people have been applying to adopt or foster a pet during this pandemic.
Rory O’Neill, director of Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue in Calgary, said the organization has received about four times the number of adoption applications they normally do.
However, they’re also getting fewer dogs — thanks to the pandemic, the small rural towns or First Nations where many rescue dogs come from are no longer allowing visitors. Many shelters bring in abandoned dogs from Mexico or other countries — an increasingly common source of rescued dogs in Canada — and have been unable to do so because of travel restrictions, O’Neill said.
She isn’t worried about her organization’s adopters returning their new furry friends because her agency has a thorough vetting process, she said. But other organizations expressed concern.
“It is scary to think that we’re going to see a wave,” said Kathleen Oltsher of Zoe’s Animal Rescue in Edmonton.
Some agencies aren’t open for adoption at all, such as the Ontario SPCA and Dog Tales Rescue in King City.
And Daryl Vaillancourt, the Ontario SPCA’s chief of humane programs, said his organization is fielding more calls from people without work who are concerned about their dog’s expenses. The SPCA is helping them with dog food or vet bills, he said.
I felt a bit guilty when Dog Tales owner Danielle EdenScheinberg said she doesn’t think it’s right to do adoptions during the pandemic, both because of social-distancing protocols and because she’s worried about animals being returned.
Perhaps it was selfish of us to take the risk, I thought.
Eden-Scheinberg thinks it’s a great time to foster an animal instead. Dog Tales is seeking foster families during the pandemic, who can decide to adopt when the outbreak ends.
Oltsher said it’s important for shelters to take extra care when completing adoptions right now because they don’t want families to have to part with a beloved pet later.
“These animals become your children very quickly,” she said. “It is an amazing feeling to be loved like that.”
It’s a scary feeling, too. Right now, Beatrice seems to feel safer with one of us in the room and yes, it’s an amazing feeling to hear the pit-patter of her feet as she runs to join me wherever I am.
But it won’t always be like that.
It may be tempting to be with your pandemic pet all the time right now, said O’Neill, who is a dog behaviour specialist. But you need to prepare them for when things go back to normal.
It’s important to leave your dog alone sometimes, whether you’re at the grocery store or just in another room with the door closed, she said.
You also need to socialize your new pet with other dogs and people, MacLean said, whether it’s at the park or with neighbours (from two metres away, of course).
And even if you have tried to prepare your new pet, O’Neill said they may still experience some separation anxiety when the pandemic ends.
One of the things I love about my job is the feeling of productivity. Not in a to-do list kind of way, but in the sense that it feels I’m doing something to help. I see journalism as a public good, and this is what has made reporting on the pandemic a little easier.
But not completely. It’s one thing to report on one event and then move on to the next. It’s quite another to wake up every day feeling like it’s the same as yesterday (insert “Groundhog Day” reference here). After a while, telling yourself you’re helping doesn’t cut it anymore.
The evening of Beatrice’s first day with us, we took her to the off-leash dog park near our home. We let her roam around for a little bit and then I crouched down, looked at her and called her name. “Beatrice, viens ici! Come!”
To my surprise, she actually did it, coming to a soft halt in front of me.
Every time something like this happens, when she plays with a dog toy for the first time, sits on command or climbs the stairs to our apartment instead of being carried up, I feel a sense of accomplishment. It feels like help, contribution, productivity.
Except, instead of carrying the burden of thousands of people on my shoulders and trying — impossibly — to help them all, I’m helping Beatrice. And it’s working.
She’s with me now as I type this, under the kitchen counter where I work. She’s so quiet that I find myself peeking under the counter every few minutes to make sure she’s all right. Sometimes her eyes are closed. Other times she’s wide awake, gazing directly at my face.
Either way, she makes me smile as I straighten up and continue my work.