LIFE IN LOCK DOWN - PETS

If anyone asked me what I like most about lock down I would say; my dog. I cannot even contemplate how my life would be if I didn't have my little furry friend to look after. She gives me a reason to get up and get dressed every day and she gives me a reason to go out. I know everyone in the world seemed to go a bit mad when they were told they could go out and do exercise once a day but for me; I don't think I would have bothered. I love walking with my dog but I don't really see the point of walking by myself and I certainly wouldn't have been one of these fitness fanatics that have taken up jogging and cycling. No................ if I didn't have my dog I probably wouldn't even get out of bed some days.

For a single person, owning a pet in lock down is a lifesaver. I'm a 'dog' person and I am so grateful to have an essential reason to go out. However quite a few of my friends are 'cat' people and even though they can't go out for a walk with their cat, just having another living creature in the house with them in these times of isolation is a real comfort.

I even have a couple of friends who own hens and the joy they get from the routine of feeding them and collecting the eggs is immense.

That's why I don't really understand all these reports about animal neglect and abandonment that seem to be popping up all over the internet. Apparently the RSPCA are really busy.

To me my dog is part of my family. Actually she is my family because the only other family I have are hundreds of miles away. But to get rid of a family pet? I just don't understand what makes someone do this.

I totally understand that pets are expensive. And in these hard times a lot of families don't have any money coming in. I don't have any money coming in. But if you really, really, didn't have the ability to care for your pet, through no fault of your own, surely you would look into re-homing your pet in the very best way possible. You wouldn't just open your front door and let it go out to fend for itself. Would you?

It seems like a lot of people would, and as far as I am concerned these are the people that shouldn't have pets in the first place. Would these people do the same with their children?

However it would seem that not being able to afford to keep a pet any longer is not the only reason why people are getting rid of their furry friends. It would seem (if all the posts on FB & Google News are to be believed) that some people are so scared that they are going to catch Covid-19 off their pets that they are actually abandoning them through fear. Again I would say.................... would you do this to your child?

Desperate times, means desperate measures, but to neglect and abandon a living creature (when there's so many options available should you not want it any more) is just downright cruel as far as I'm concerned.

Oh and while I'm on the subject of 'pets'........................ a lot of people seem to think that getting a pet during lock down is the way to go. They seem to think that having a dog to take out will encourage them to exercise more. Or getting a puppy or a kitten now is a good thing because they are at home all day to train it. Unfortunately most people don't seem to realise that puppies & kittens grow up to be dogs & cats and need commitment for all of their lives (approx 15 years) and not just for the time we are in lock down. What is going to happen to all these dogs and cats (who are probably going to be named Cora or Rona) when their humans go back to work and they haven't been trained to stay home alone? And also, how on earth can you socialise these animals with other animals & humans when we're all being told to stay 2m apart?

To be honest I do have a couple of friends who have actually acquired puppies during lock down, but these particular people had already signed up to get a dog before lock down was in place and had a normal training programme all ready for their new addition. One friend works from home and has a big garden so new puppy should adapt to his life easily. The other puppy has two owners with flexible work patterns so training him and leaving him home alone had been all worked out. Until lock down....................... and now 5 month old puppy has both his owners at home 24/7. It's going to be really hard to train him to stay home alone once his owners go back to work.

Even my dog (who is now 18 months old), has had me at home with her 24/7 for more than 7 weeks. The only time I leave her, is once a week when I go out and do a shop for an old person and even then it's only for an hour or so. I worked really hard last year training her to stay home alone. I adopted her when she was three months old (she was found in a hedge, no microchip etc) and I'm worried now that all my hard work re training last year is going to fall apart. We've not been out in the car for more than 2 months. Is she going to hate the car when we're eventually able to go out for a non-essential journey? It's all these things that people hoping to get a 'lock-down' pet should be thinking about. But sadly they're not!

Anyway those are my views on pets.

See you all tomorrow.

Toodles.