Graduate student Emily Ritchart found herself spending the last half of her senior year at home in Clarksville, Tennessee. LSU's decision to end in-person classes sent Emily home to do online school alongside her 10-year-old sister with two parents working full time. The family had been dog-less for years, and with the whole family at home all day every day they needed a change of pace. A month into their quarantine, a family friend presented them with the chance to add a member to their household. After a visit, they made the decision to adopt Josie Burrow, namesake to Heisman winner Joe Burrow and a rescue German Shepherd from a nearby shelter.
"It was definitely like there was a little light around the house to have a puppy running around and watching her grow and playing with her," Emily said about the first few months with Josie. As Emily finished her undergraduate coursework the puppy was always there when she needed a break, a cuddle, or a laugh. Now that she is back at LSU for her graduate degree in Mass Communication, weekly FaceTime calls with Josie and the rest of her family are a necessity.
The Ritcharts weren’t the only family getting a new dog during the quarantine. According to the Washington Post, shelters all over the nation saw almost double their daily rates in adoptions when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Petfinder, a website used by shelters and independent breeders to list pets for sale, saw an increase in traffic of 43%, with adoption inquiries up 116%. Parents working from home and children doing online school wanted another friend around the house to make lockdown a little easier.
In Baton Rouge, Companion Animal Alliance was fortunate to rehome dogs over the course of the quarantined months. Their location just off LSU's campus makes it accessible for Baton Rouge families to meet dogs and add to their family. New procedures such as adoption appointments and mandatory masks called for a few changes, but families getting involved at the shelter was a change for the better.
"One of the things people really think about when adopting a pet is time, and quarantine kind of took that factor away," Executive Director Jillian Sergio said about increased rates the past few months. CAA saw not only adoptions increase but weekend and week-long fostering programs. Thanks to this, employees had more time to dedicate to animals needing more intense medical or behavioral care. When a litter of seven feral puppies came into the facility in May, the staff was able to nurse each puppy to health and socialize them with humans. All but one puppy has since been adopted and placed into a permanent home.
Millions of Americans are still working from home or doing online education with seemingly no end in sight for COVID-19. Having a four-legged friend around the house is one way people are alleviating some of the stress that comes with job insecurity and neverending political news. Shelters like Companion Animal Alliance all over the country are working hard to find the perfect pet to ease lockdown stress.