A few weeks ago I drove to Modesto with my friend to pick up his new puppy and it got me thinking. How many people have adopted an animal during this pandemic?
Students have been faced with many firsts over the last couple of months, especially those who chose a pandemic to adopt an animal. Over the last few weeks Julia Kryzan and myself, Lauren Hodgins, have interviewed multiple students who have gotten cats, dogs and even hamsters during the stay-at-home order.
We went and dug a little deeper and found out that even our local shelters like Woods Humane Society have seen a big jump in adoptions compared to last year.
Not only had local shelters experienced spikes in adoptions, but shelters/breeders across the nation as well according to The Washington Post.
We chose this topic because it felt light hearted during a time of such uncertainty and gloom. It has boosted our spirits getting to see and hear about all of these cute animals, and we hope it does the same thing for our readers.
“It was so interesting to hear about students’ experiences fostering and adopting animals during covid. For so many it was their first experience raising animals and living on their own,” said Kryzan.
For students like biology senior Stephanie Goryl, a pandemic granted the perfect timing for her to get an Australian shepherd puppy. Her seven month old puppy Oakley has brought her nothing but joy throughout the last couple of months.
“He’s really good at cuddling. I feel like he kind of keeps me occupied and obviously, covid, you can’t see that many people, so he kind of keeps you busy, which is nice. He’s a good little boy and he was really cute when he was a puppy,” said Goryl.
I personally loved getting to know all of these animals over zoom and getting to see a glimpse of their personalities. You could see how much happiness that these animals have brought their owners just by the way they are talked about.
If you have been debating adopting an animal I hope that these stories can help sway your mind. If you need any more motivation, you can always head to Woods’s Facebook page to check out the animals that still need a home.