Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/pets-being-returned-after-pandemic/
When the pandemic was first starting, people were flocking to the shelters and picking up pets to care for while they were stuck at home. In fact, there was even a shortage of animals during that time, which is amazing, considering how many are typically at the shelters.
We are dealing with different days now with Covid-19 restrictions being lifted and people returning to the office once again.
According to chief executive of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in London, Peter Laurie: “We’re starting to see now what we think will be a longer-term trend of some of those pandemic pets, if you want to call them that, starting to be given up.”
In other words, people took the dogs home to care for them when they needed them the most but now they are not willing to stick it out for the long term.
The number of pets being returned to the shelters is at a record high, and people are expecting it to get worse.
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Laurie went on to say that he feels it is due to people returning to the office gradually and thinking about going on vacation. Unfortunately, people brought these puppies and kittens home at the beginning of the pandemic but now they are returning them.
He said: “Those puppies will have grown into adult dogs now. Some of those behaviors may be becoming a little bit more challenging [and] now people may be thinking now it’s getting too difficult so sadly, I think we’re gonna see an upturn.”
This isn’t the first time that something like this has happened. It also happened when the recession hit in 2008 and people were home because they were losing their jobs. There may also be other reasons why people are bringing their pets back to the shelters.
According to the New York Post, Kate Collins, a shelter worker, said that a number of those people are returning the animals because they cannot keep up their financial obligations.
She feels that it’s unfortunate that some feel that way about their pets but the positive part is that the shelter does not turn animals away.
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
