As I mentioned in my post last week, I’m starting a new guest feature here on The Glorious Outsiders, looking at how our pets might have helped us through the pandemic. Last week I wrote about getting a ‘lockdown puppy’, something that we did as a family, by accident, I might add. (We were already on a waiting list for a puppy before the first lockdown happened.) Our new bundle of joy plus our other dog and various pets are always well loved and appreciated, but during both lockdowns, their role in our home became even more obvious and vital. Please welcome author Lily Hayden to the blog – today she will be telling us about the lost rabbit they found during lockdown and goes on to express concern for the many unwanted and abandoned animals out there.

PETS DURING THE PANDEMIC

We humans have been sharing our homes with animals since ancient times. Back in the day, historians speculate that ours was a mutually beneficial relationship, domesticating dogs for hunting and protection, and cats to rid our safe spaces of rodents. Fast forward to present day and our relationships have evolved. We seem to have an obsession with sharing our indoor space with another species for comfort and companionship.

The mental health benefits are widely publicised; pet owners surveyed report lower stress levels, higher happiness and increased activity resulting in better physical health. The downsides are also well known- increased responsibility, financial costs, lack of freedom. Unlike children who will (probably) grow up and move out, these animals will be dependent on you to varying degrees for their entire life with no days off.

During lockdown, we did inadvertently add another fluffy family member to an already full house when my husband found a rabbit in the street. I managed to eventually track down the owner, but they did not want him back. With four other animals and five humans in the house, I figured that my stress levels could stretch to one more.

I must add at this point that I really wanted to write a heart-warming tale of how much I love the animals that live in my house, how unique they all are with different personalities and funny habits. Because hand on my heart, they are a constant source of joy. Even though they are messy, sometimes smell, are needy, and constantly under my feet, they are beautiful, comforting, peaceful, and my home and my heart would be emptier without them. In just under a month, I have developed a lovely bond with the rabbit which is just as well as he sleeps under my bed and jumps on the bed to tell me his food bowl is empty.

Thiago the rabbit is sadly just one of many animals that find themselves being rehomed, and amidst the confusion and heartbreak they must feel, they are fortunate in that that their owners ensured that they went to a safe place. Thousands of not-so-lucky animals are dumped or abandoned every year.

Lockdown has seen a rise in the number of homes acquiring a pet. The retail price for puppies has shot up with unprecedented demand during the pandemic, and I know there are many families that have provided loving, forever homes for their new addition. But equally, I can see that online selling pages are full of animals that aren’t sweet, little babies anymore, and I do worry what will happen to some of these in the future.

A good friend of mine who doesn’t have any pets began fostering cats during lockdown, and the condition of the first cat that came to her was nothing short of heart-breaking and he sadly had to be put to sleep due to his health. She bravely decided to take on another; the tiniest little boy that was no more than skin and bones when he was found dumped in a box with two siblings that were sadly too small to survive.

While the majority would find this, and rightly so, horrendous, it is worrying that trading animals as a commodity and breeding animals for financial gain is something that doesn’t make us all uncomfortable. To us, they might just be a cute companion, but to them we are their whole world, and even more so during lockdown where suddenly sixty percent of the working population in the UK are working from home.

In 2019, the RSPCA took in 10,564 dogs and 29,432 cats. There are hundreds of other animal rescues and charities, dedicated to ensuring that animals remain safe and cared for, taking in thousands more, but they are all struggling with a lack of resources, adoptions and vital fundraising on hold, due to the pandemic. While we are all looking forward to a return to normality, they are justifiably concerned about an influx of unwanted animals in the not-so-distant future.

So, if an animal has brought you love and comfort during this time, when you’re in a position to do so, please support the thousands of animals out there that haven’t been lucky enough to find a home like yours through donating, sponsoring or offering any time that you can spare.

Thank you so much to Lily for joining us on the blog today. If you would like to find out more about her books, here is the link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lily-Hayden/e/B07CR8KF7D

And if you would like to talk about your pets and how they have helped you get through the pandemic, please get in touch as I would love to hear from you! Blog posts, stories and poems all welcome.