Where are ‘pandemic pets’ now?

Nearly one in five — or 23 million — U.S. households got a new furry friend during the Covid pandemic, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. While most of these pets remain full-fledged family members, some pets found their “forever home” to be far from forever.

“We've seen an increase of animals getting surrendered,” said Johanna Baeyens, the founder and owner of the animal rescue agency Lend-A-Paw, now based in Oceanside, citing behavioral issues or separation anxiety as people have resumed working outside of the home.

“A lot of people just don't know how to deal with that. They just resort to surrendering their animal,” Baeyens said.

Lend-A-Paw cares for many animals returned by previous owners. More than half of those returns are pets who were adopted during the pandemic, Baeyens said.

“I think a lot of people didn't find other ways of keeping themselves active or fixing the boredom,” she said. “Instead they just went and thought of a quick fix, to get an animal, and now they’re seeing the consequences.”

Baeyens said that pandemic pets continue to be returned — just last Saturday, someone gave back the two cats they adopted during lockdown because their living situation has changed now that the height of the pandemic is over.

Elyse Jordan, the shelter manager at Bobbi and the Strays in Freeport, says the animal rescue ended up caring for several pets that were given back as people’s lives started to return to normal.

“We did get what we ended up calling pandemic puppies,” Jordan said. “Where people bought puppies while they were home all that time, and then once they went back to work, they didn't have time.”

She and her colleagues were pleasantly surprised to find those “pandemic puppies” to be fairly few, though: The vast majority of animals adopted from Bobbi and the Strays have stayed with their families.

The adoption rate for adult cats in particular

saw a spike, nearly doubling during the pandemic. Jordan noted that post-pandemic cat adoptions have remained high because many people felt bad for the animals that were being returned and wanted to give them the homes they deserved. This was life-changing for adult and senior cats, which are often overlooked for adoption in favor of kittens.

Cindy Roth, the founder of the animal shelter All About Cats in Freeport, says she saw a couple of instances of people returning pets they got during lockdown. These people cited allergies, although more than a year had passed since the initial adoption.

“I think they got it as a kitten for entertainment, and it grew up, and then they didn’t need it around anymore,” Roth said.

Both cats have since found their forever families, as have the rest of the cats that were adopted during lockdown. All About Cats generally sees around 1,200 adoptions each year, a number that increased by several hundred during 2020. For people who were adopting for the right reasons, the pandemic was the perfect time to introduce a new family member to their homes, Roth said.

“They were able to get a lot of love,” Roth said. Plus, she added, it was good for people who needed a source of joy in their lives: “It’s medically proven that animals are good for the stress in your life. Older people that have animals live longer. It gives them joy and happiness in life.”

This was exactly the case for Priscilla and Bill Pesek and their three children, who adopted Winston on April 23 2020.

“I think what got us to really look for this puppy was we needed a lot of joy in our lives,” said Priscilla Pesek. “We needed some kind of love and happiness.”

Winston, who as a puppy was “a little ball of fur,” brought just that. At a time when the family’s lives were interrupted and Bill, a funeral home director, was working nonstop, Winston was a source of family bonding and happiness. The kids went on walks together and read books together on dog training, Priscilla said.

Winston also kept the Peseks in touch with their community and other family members. When the kids walked Winston, neighbors were delighted by him and would stop to chat even while remaining six feet away. Priscilla’s grandparents, mother-in-law, and preschool students were also big fans of the dog.

“It just took a very bad time and made it into a very happy one,” Priscilla said.