COVID-19 is causing people to be stuck at home, quarantining to make sure they do not get sick nor spread the virus anymore than it already has. Those stuck at home, especially people who live alone, find themselves feeling lonely and wanting companionship. And nothing can beat the companionship that a dog brings to a person. An article by Vox states, “Petfinder told me that its traffic increased 43 percent and adoption inquiries jumped 116 percent in the second half of March.” This statement shows that when people started to quarantine is when the numbers in adoptions and traffic to pet stores and animal shelters increased. 

While this seems like a good thing for the dogs, many people who are not fit to raise a dog are still adopting because they are bored and lonely. Dr. Rahel Klapheke told Style Blueprint that pets, “offer unconditional love and companionship that is non-judgmental and pure.” She emphasizes that the human-animal bond is an extraordinary one. “However,” she cautions, “it is also a lifetime (their lifetime) commitment. You are now responsible for providing this animal’s basic and medical needs for the rest of its life. You need to think about when things ‘get back to normal.’ Are you going to be able to maintain that care?” She is concerned that the people buying dogs now are forgetting that the pandemic will end eventually, maybe soon or maybe later, but it will end. She worries that people are buying a dog now, thinking it will be fun and give something to do around the house but when those people have to go back to work and travel, will have to find somewhere else for the dog to stay. 

Madelyn Agostini, a junior at Roswell, was asked what her thoughts on this topic was and she said that, “As someone who has had a rescue dog that we adopted at a shelter and have a dog that we rescued from the highway, I think that it is very important for dogs, who have not had the best life, to get adopted. However, I do not think it is very smart for people with busy lives outside of quarantine to adopt dogs. Once quarantine ends they may see the dog as a burden rather than a good thing because they will want to go on vacation and stuff but can’t because they don’t have anyone to take care of the dog and they can not bring the dog with them.”

My opinion of this topic is that although it is good that dogs are getting homes, those who still have a busy life outside of quarantine should not get a dog.This is because although their life is calm right now, once restrictions are lifted and people can go throughout their life without worrying about COVID-19, they may find themselves not having as much time as they did during quarantine to take care of the dogs like they should. Also, I think that people who are quite young should not get dogs, including students who are in college. Many colleges and universities are doing online school, which is giving a lot of free time and maybe making them bored. During this boredom, the students may think that it is a good idea to get a dog because they are cute and fun but they forget about the responsibilities that come with adopting a dog and having to take care of it. Once the students have to go back to class and worry about balancing school work, jobs, and a social life, like going to hang out with friends or to football games, the dog may become an afterthought in their heads become neglected.

Read more about dogs and how Covid-19 has effected them here