Anthropologists trace the relationship between humans and animals back tens of thousands of years. In the past, pets provided protection, hunting and other services. With time, this bond has progressed to benefit humans by offering stress relief, love, compassion, pain reduction and other psychological needs.
According to a report from Mars Petcare, 86% of pets' owners say that their pets have been a top source of companionship during the pandemic. A majority of new pet owners cited companionship as the main reason for getting a pet. The report also shows the major benefits of having pets: reduced stress or anxiety (78%), reduced boredom and monotony (75%) and reduced depression (74%) during COVID-19.
Half of the survey respondents reported spending more time with pets as the primary benefit of working from home – even ahead of increased flexibility (46%), cost savings from lack of commute (47%) and more time with family (36%).
All those factors translated into a dramatic increase in demand for pets. According to Packaged Facts' "U.S. Pet Market Outlook" in March 2020,"The brightest note for the pet industry during the age of coronavirus is the possibility pet adoption and ownership will surge during the crisis and its aftermath, and there is historical precedent for pet adoption increasing during times of emotional and economic duress." .
In addition to the isolation caused by the pandemic, Rafaela Reynaldo and her husband left family and friends in Massachusetts to move to Atlanta."We were feeling lonely just the two of us with no friends or family around and when COVID hit. And we felt that this was the right moment.".Rafaela.
"We were feeling lonely just the two of us with no friends or family around and when COVID hit. And we felt that this was the right moment."Rafaela Reynaldo
Before adopting their American Staffy Cocoa, Rafaela considered all the costs and drawbacks. "We understood the financial costs but even with background research we underestimated the time invested in her. Also the emotional toll of the first few months." In the end it was worth it for the companionship and exercise of twice-daily walks. "Cocoa is amazing now, but the first few months were incredibly hard".
Shelters, local pet stores and pet services struggled to keep up with high demand – all reported more consumer demand than there were dogs and puppies to fill it. In many places, it reached a point where no more pets available to adopt in shelters as well as pet stores increased the prices because of this high demand. During my research I tried to contact more than ten pet shelters around NYC (Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens), but all of them are still working with appointments only due to high demand.
"We felt overwhelmed," said Rodrigo Leite, owner of a Homedoggy in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. "We got a constrained demand that boomed in a short time and didn't have much service offering around here, so this was really good for my business." Leite has seen a change in pet owners' behavior, too. "People are more and more attached to their pets, they feel and treat them like kids."
"In the beginning we didn't feel that the demand for daycare would be high because people would be very attached to their dogs and they would want their dogs around," continues Leite. "But the daycare in Homedoggy is busy all day during the week and sometimes during the weekends too, probably because they have to go to the office and leave their dogs somewhere." Leite thinks that new owners might not have considered what life would look like after the pandemic. "People were impulsive to get new pets during the pandemic because now they will have to leave their dogs in daycare."
That won't be the case for Rafaela and Cocoa. "Luckily my husband has a flexible schedule and can spend mornings with Cocoa about 3 days per week," says Reynaldo. "When we can't do that Cocoa goes to daycare".
"I never thought I would feel that much love for a pet," she adds. "I have a deep connection with her from her companionship. I love when I get home and see her wagging her tail, her welcome home purr, and cuddles on the couch. She gives me so much love all the time, I can't imagine my life without her."
