Thank you, furry friends, for being there during lockdown

Dear doggos of New Zealand. Thank you for your service. The last few weeks have been pretty tough for your humans. You’ll have noticed they’ve been around a lot more.

The daily routine has gone out the window, as we’ve hunkered down at home.

Throughout it all, you’ve been there. Constant companions, snoring at our feet as we batter away at laptops on our kitchen table.

We’ve hauled you, drowsy from a nap, onto our knees to show you off, all cutesy, on Zoom calls.

There’s always a cellphone in your face as we try and find something interesting to post about our boring #lockdownlife.

There’s been incessant cuddling. Video chat is fine to stop us getting lonely, but you’ve been physically there, an emotional support that’s missing right now.

You know something is up, and the extra snuggles keep us calm. Plus the belly scratches are pretty good, no?

The stream of constant chatter must get annoying. Do we jabber so much to our colleagues? If you could talk back, would you tell us to shut up?

I’m sorry, too, about the slippers. It’s much harder to chew when we are wearing them all the time.

Oh, and for the endless walks. We’ve dragged you round the block so many times, you’ve started to hide your leash.

I know it would be more fun if you could sniff bums, run free and get pats from strangers. Social distancing is cruel for pooches too.

Sorry we’ve walked the paws off you. But you motivate us to stay healthy, get out the door, and into the fresh air.

As our lives have slowed down, we’ve taken inspiration from you. How you can make a nap last all morning, stirring to move only from one patch of sunlight to another.

Your uninhibited joy and goofiness is a reason to keep smiling. When everything seems a bit bleak, you get the zoomies and run around crazed after a ball, or wake yourself up with a really loud fart. (Maybe don’t do that again when we are on the conference call.)

When work gets a bit overwhelming, there you are trying to shake out a rawhide chew, stuck on your teeth. There’s nothing like trying to prise a chicken-flavoured twist from the jaws of a wriggling shar pei to make a human forget all about a passive-aggressive email.

You’ve been complicit in our snacking. One treat for you, one for the human, (who is starting to develop a tan from the fridge light).

And you’re still always excited to see us, even though we never leave now.

Thank you for getting us up at a reasonable hour, with a blast of doggy morning breath. There might not be a bus to catch, or a gym class to get to any more, but we humans should know that 7am is much too late for your breakfast. Those droopy, judgey eyes are enough to coax us out from under the duvet.

And when you shove your head on our lap at the end of the day, it’s clear that means mealtime and we should take a break from our keyboards.

Sometimes, in this Covid-19 nightmare, we take ourselves a bit too seriously. You, with your shoestring slobber, pleading eyes and furry hugs, are a constant reminder of what’s really important. Like dinner.

Those droopy, judgey eyes are enough to coax us out from under the duvet.