Written by: Ritika Gupta
Edited by: Kalyan Archakam, Mukhil Thavathiru Murugan, and Anthony Chen
“Pandemic puppies,” or pets abandoned to shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic, are flooding animal shelters across the country.
Initially, “pandemic puppies” were emotional support animals for people stuck in social isolation due to lockdown. Now the term has a more unfavorable connotation.
“We have created a generation of dogs who are emotionally co-dependent, often on a single individual,” said Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff from Scientific American.
Many people adopted pets during the early stages of the lockdown, but as restrictions were lifted and people went back to work, these pets were surrendered to shelters.
“[Pali] Boucher says two things are happening: some people adopted dogs at the beginning of the lockdown and, now that they’re going back to work or traveling, they don’t want the responsibility of a dog; others are simply dealing with hardships caused by the pandemic,” said Katie Nielsen from KPIX.
Most pets, especially dogs, have adapted to being with their owners 24/7, but as people are returning to in-person life, the pets have to learn to stay alone. Transitioning quickly from never being alone to having to spend hours alone is shown to be difficult for many pets. This is referred to as “separation anxiety.”
“Many of these dogs have been or will soon be expected to deal with sudden extended periods of isolation. We can anticipate (and are already seeing) skyrocketing rates of behavioral problems in pet dogs,” said Pierce and Bekoff.
The return to in-person life has also presented another problem. Socially untrained pets have to learn how to interact with others.
“Marissa Sunny, CPDT-KA, a certified professional dog trainer and dog behavior specialist for the nonprofit Best Friends Animal Society, said as things open back up, it’s important to prioritize training and socialization to help prevent an influx of untrained adult dogs in shelters,” said Jen Reeder from Today.
PETA, or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is also urging people to not buy animals as gifts. Every January, shelters see a spike in the number of pets being surrendered who were given as Christmas gifts.
“PETA asks everyone to remember these points: animals are a lifelong commitment, children may not be ready, there are too few happy endings, and wait until the holidays are over,” said Megan Wiltsie from PETA.
Overall, about 1.5 million shelter pets are euthanized in the United States each year due to overcrowding according to the ASPCA, or American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Some ways to help overcrowding in shelters is to foster a pet or donate at ASPCA.com.
Sources:
Pierce, Jessica, and Marc Bekoff. “Home Alone: The Fate of Postpandemic Dogs.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 26 Oct. 2021, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/home-alone-the-fate-of-postpandemic-dogs/.
Nielsen, Katie. “Animal Shelters Inundated with ‘Pandemic Pups’ as Adoptive Owners’ Attention Lags.” CBS San Francisco, CBS San Francisco, 15 July 2021, https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/07/15/animal-shelters-inundated-pandemic-pets-adoptive-owners-attention-flags/.
TodayShow. “Untrained Pandemic Pups Present Dilemma for Americans.” TODAY.com, 24 June 2021, https://www.today.com/pets/untrained-pandemic-pups-present-dilemma-americans-t223603.
“As ‘Pandemic Pups’ Flood Shelters, PETA Urges: Don’t Put Animals under the Tree-They’re Family!” PETA, 15 Dec. 2021, https://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/as-pandemic-pups-flood-shelters-peta-urges-dont-put-animals-under-the-tree-theyre-family/.
“Ways to Give.” ASPCA, https://www.aspca.org/ways-to-give.
“Pet Statistics.” ASPCA, https://www.aspca.org/helping-people-pets/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics.
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