Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, families have been asked to stay at home to help slow the spread of this sickness. Now that the rules are starting to lighten up, some pet owners are getting worried. During all of quarantine, many adults have been working from home, instead of at the office. As a result, pets have been able to spend more time with their families. This is amazing for our pets, and for pet owners for the time being, but when things go back to normal, will they get lonely? 

“We have definitely connected more with Henry. We have gone on more walks, hikes, and played with him more. He even sits with us while we work,” Liz Patterson, a two-year dog owner, said.

Dogs create a sense of emotion for humans, just as we do for them. My dog, Duffy, is two years old, and we have fostered the strongest bond with him. It is almost like we know what he is saying through his actions. All of my friends have dogs, and they think the same way. Our dogs’ emotions, and ours could change greatly when things go back to normal. For this reason, many pet owners are worried.

“She is going to be so sad when the kids go back to school, and we go back to work,” Bridget Benner, a new puppy owner, said. 

During the pandemic, my family has been seeing so many more dog walkers around Walpole, alongside their children who are having a blast. Likewise, their pups have been very energetic and excited. For example, Olivia Stanton’s family has never felt as connected to their dog as they do now in the seven years that he has been a part of the family. 

 “He’s loving that we are home, but we are worried he is going to get lonely afterwards,” Stanton said. 

There is, in fact, a little bit of a solution to this. It is not going to help pet owners completely, but it should help. Right now, if we start to leave our pets at home for one hour, then three hours and so on, our pets could get accustomed to staying home alone. While your pet is at home, maybe put on the radio or even the television, so that they do not feel completely alone. Listening to anyone’s voice could help your pet adapt to time alone after so much time with their family.