ANIMATION BY CAROLINA AGUILAR
Feb. 27, 2021
By Emily Melleno
Staff Writer
In the United States, around 85 million families or 67 percent of households are pet owners, so not being able to be with your pet in certain circumstances was a big change. Since my family and I are pet owners, we have learned to adapt to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention restrictions and precautions. Before, pet owners would be able to walk straight into the vet’s office with their animals, but during Covid-19, they are prohibited from doing so. Every pet owner has to notify the vet when they have arrived and wait for a nurse to take the pets for their scheduled appointment.
My family has multiple pets that we take to checkups including my dogs, Max and Sammie, and my cat, Holly. We were previously able to meet with the veterinarian and ask them questions directly. This has now changed as patients are asked to leave as soon as the consultation is over. Any information needed is told over the phone.
In addition to these changes, the pandemic does not allow pet owners to say goodbye to their animals and be with them one last time before being put down. Going through this tragedy is a heartbreaking experience.
I went through this in quarantine myself. For one last time, I said goodbye to Sparkle, my cat. Last year, I was not able to be with her at the vet due to Covid-19. It was a heart-rending moment for my entire family. When this event happened, it was so hard to watch her go because Sparkle has been by my side my whole life, and knowing that my parents were not allowed to be by her side made me so upset.
Fostering animals has also changed due to the coronavirus. CDC restrictions make it harder for potential pet adopters to connect with foster families.
Before I adopted Sammie from a foster family, there was a big process to go through. My family had to schedule multiple visits in Nanuet, New York to meet Sammie and his foster parents.
After a few visits, Sammie was introduced to my other pets to see if they got along. The adoption of Sammie occurred eight years before the pandemic, so we had no trouble with traveling to New York. Today, the coronavirus has discouraged people from visiting other places due to concerns about getting sick.
The pandemic does not allow pet owners to say goodbye to their animals and be with them one last time before being put down. Going through this tragedy is a heartbreaking experience.
Even though going to the vet has changed during the pandemic, adoption rates for dogs and cats have increased. As more people are home from school and work, it is a great time to adopt a new friend.
The adoption rates have almost doubled since June with 10 to 13 animals being adopted per day. This has led people to go on waiting lists for adoptions since the supply of pets in shelters does not meet the demand.
Over the past few weeks, my mom and I have also thought of adopting another cat since we are stuck at home with extra time on our hands.
If we adopt another pet, we have to make sure that we are taking in a new cat in a safe manner. Before the pandemic, you would see multiple people within the same vicinity, looking and petting the same dogs, but now when adopting or just looking to adopt another pet, everyone has to make sure they are taking the precautions seriously.
In August of 2019, my family and I happened upon a pet adoption event occurring near Pet Valu. The coronavirus had not spread in the United States yet, so it was easy for us to interact with the dogs and cats. Now, adoption centers have to take more precautions due to various restrictions.
Ultimately, the pandemic has helped me come to realize that even though it is now harder to foster or adopt, it will all be worth it because my family will have a lifelong friend.
