Sign In

Pets Are Family

May 18, 2020

Since the first phase of the pandemic reached Los Angeles, many animal shelters have had a high volume of adoption and fostering applicants as many people needed a way to get through this disheartening time.

The initial stages of the pandemic saw many animals fostered and shelters beginning to be emptied, which was rightly seen as a total win for all furry friends.

With all this time at home and the recent extension to stay-at-home orders, many Angelinos find themselves with a seemingly infinite amount of time to spare, but what happens when all the comfort is stripped away from you within a blink of an eye?

Pets are great for emotional support buddies that will always keep you busy and give you something to look forward to when you get home.

These pets, however, should not be seen as coping mechanisms to manage not being allowed to go outside and do the regular everyday things you did before the stay-at-home order.

Of course, there are certainly families who can just no longer afford the expenses of an animal.

Many people who own pets will be faced with (or already made) the hard decision of taking their family pet into the shelter because they face financial hardships due to the pandemic making it nearly impossible to find a steady, and possibly safe, job able to support their family and their pet.

Yes, the pandemic has affected almost every single person throughout the county but this should not be the cause to return your family pet to an overcrowded shelter.

Returning the animal will only stress it out and may eventually push it into a depressed state, hoping to reunite with its original owners.

Then again, there are some of those people who just go through life not realizing that these animals have feelings. The unaware may simply use them for cruel, petty and short-term entertainment.

This attitude towards pet stewardship is completely backwards and irresponsible. To brazenly use an animal and “return” it like an inanimate piece of clothing with a receipt is a shocking show of apathy towards sentient life.

These animals create a bond with their owners and people never truly understand how much a pet can love their owners.

If you are one of those people who has returned a pet because now things are “getting back to normal” or are contemplating doing such a thing, then shame on you, you detestable cretin! How dare you use an innocent animal for your personal emotional well-being without considering the emotions of the animal?

There are also those who do not even care to take an animal to a shelter where they can at least receive a modicum of support. Some find it easier to abandon the animal or let the pet run away from home, letting that pet wander around in the streets with no food or care.

It is actually a crime in most states to abandon a pet.

Taking away the privilege of a pet to have a loving home and abandoning it causes the pet to suffer from mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.

If you think that mammals don’t have emotions, you are tragically wrong. Animals experience some of the same emotions we humans do, like sadness, happiness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust.

Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist at Emory University, does brain scans to study decision-making in humans and he trained dogs to stay still in an MRI scanner while awake.

“When you start looking at their brains and you see that they react the same way in many ways that humans do it causes me to question how we treat dogs and animals in general, specifically as property,” Berns says, “Currently under all codes of law something is either property or a human being (a person) and there is not really another category so it made me question where do dogs belong, ‘Are they closer to people?’, and I see them closer to people.”

Berns acknowledges that many of his finding in dogs probably holds true for pretty much any mammal.

Pets are innocent and provide unconditional love to owners and it is the owner’s responsibility to provide the best loving environment in return.

Before you adopt, please understand that the pet is your responsibility for the rest of their lifetime.

Register Your Dog

  • Most Recent News

    Former Victoria man’s diabetic alert dog helps him get back to life

    When Luke Hengen’s diabetes worsened in his early twenties, it stripped him of the outdoor activities where the country kid felt at home. Countless wilderness adventures and years of hard-fought football games took a toll on his body, to the point where he could no longer sense when his blood sugar was too high or […]

    Read more

    Students Get Therapy Dog

    When middle school students return to class on Jan. 11, they’ll find a new face at the door: Daisy. Daisy is a therapy dog and the personal pet of Rob Kreger, principal of the Rock L. Butler Middle School. The five-year-old golden retriever is not a school pet or mascot, but rather a working dog […]

    Read more

    Therapy Dogtor

    Last March, Caroline Benzel, a third-year medical student, began to notice the stress and discomfort her nurse friends were feeling from the pressures of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. “[Personal protective equipment] can be really rough on the skin,” Benzel, 31, tells PEOPLE. Benzel and her 3-year-old Rottweiler, Loki (who’s also a therapy dog) hatched a […]

    Read more

    Therapy Dog Pups

    When Stanley the miniature fox terrier’s owner passed away, the little dog started a ‘paw-some’ new role – bringing puppy love to some of the Gold Coast’s oldest residents. After Carinity Cedarbrook Diversional Therapist Julianne Staff adopted Stanley, he began visiting the aged care community at Mudgeeraba as a therapy dog. Therapy dogs help to […]

    Read more

    Puppy Cams

    A nonprofit is providing an unusual form of therapy for those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic – puppy cams! “You spend five minutes with a puppy and try not to smile,” said registered nurse Robin Lingg Lagrone. Lingg Lagrone says watching little furballs wag their tails and prance on their paws helps […]

    Read more

    Pet Committee

    When Moore County’s school doors were abruptly closed earlier in 2020, two- and four-legged volunteers from the Moore County Citizens’ Pet Responsibility Committee (PRC) were in their 12th year of presenting a six-session Pet Responsibility Education Program for fourth-graders. The PRC quickly shifted gears and placed its program materials online as part of a home […]

    Read more