How to Responsibly Adopt a Pet During a Pandemic
Bringing a new companion home could be a great idea; but it’s also a major commitment that will last beyond quarantine
The impulse to adopt a pet during quarantine makes a lot of sense: You’re home now more than you’ve maybe ever been, lonely and touch-starved, desperate for a project to take your mind off obsessing about Coronavirus all hours of the day. Why not welcome a friendly, furry companion into your life, now that you have the time for one? When animal shelters, short-staffed and hit by reduced hours and adoption event cancellations due to Covid-19, put out calls for folks to foster or adopt, the demand was heard: in New York City, Muddy Paws Rescue and Best Friends Animal Society even reported a shortage of shelter animals.
It sounds like a win-win. But taking in a new pet is a major lifestyle commitment, not a harmless quarantine coping mechanism, like cutting your own bangs or getting into baking bread. Before you panic adopt a four-legged dependent, consider how you might feel if circumstances change — the last thing shelters need is an influx of animal surrenders in a few months, when new pet parents realize their decision may have been rash. The bangs will grow out, and you can abandon your sourdough son at any time, but the dog or cat is here…
