HEATHER  RATH
  • Home
    • Admin Stuff
  • Who Is She ?
  • Writings
    • Books
    • Children's Stories
    • Lifestyle Columns
    • Short Stories
    • Travel Articles
    • Projects
  • Reviews/Links
  • Blog
  • Comments
  • Contact
  • Poetry
  • Untitled

Pets and the Pandemic

5/26/2020

4 Comments

 
        Once upon a time, I was a columnist for a weekly newspaper in a small Ontario city. One column I wrote featured how our three sons wanted a pet. More specifically, a dog.
         My husband, despite four-legged creatures being attracted to him, nixed the idea. Too much trouble. Who was going to walk it all hours of the day and in all kinds of weather? And pick up after it? And, with the five of us out of the house for a significant part of the day, how was that fair to a dog? Also, we travelled a lot. What then? Place it in a kennel (an expensive proposition) or depend on kind-hearted friends (who would no longer be friends after two weeks of dog-sitting)?
        No, he decreed. Our lifestyle did not suit a dog member. (I must confess I was always on the fence. I had two dogs and a cat at separate times as childhood friends.   But I never said that out loud!)
        So instead of dogs, a myriad of weird creatures inhabited our home.  Once, as a parting gift, visiting relatives left behind a cage containing two gerbils for our sons. The givers insisted these little rodents were no trouble: clean, pleasant, quiet little pets…until one promptly disappeared into the recesses of the house. This incident caused a violent argument about whose fault it was. Then there were two chameleons (“one will just die of loneliness…we’ve got to have two”) and eventually, an iguana. Called “Drake”, short for Draconian, he became a legend in his own right.
Picture
        Hanging with his claws on the front door screen, Drake often turned away pesky salespeople who, catching sight of this mini-dinosaur flicking his tongue, did not dare ring our doorbell. We gleefully watched them creep away. Drake was also guilty of eating leaves from our houseplants leading to weird looks from visitors; on entering our home, one only saw tall green leafless stems standing alone in large containers.

        Fast forward now to 2020 and the Pandemic.
        Common sense (and psychologists) tell us that an adoring pet does wonders for the soul. And our mental health.
        The instinct to turn to pets during this pandemic is supported by science, says a researcher studying how pets help people.
        Researcher Megan Mueller says pets provide nonjudgmental emotional support, and studies show that “contact with pets help reduces stress and anxiety, particularly when you are experiencing a stressful situation.”
      Studies have also shown how animals help people cope better with social isolation—that is, being physically separated from others—and with loneliness.
        So, in that spirit, several members of our family have opted to follow that advice.
In the case of two sons, the pet idea started with the kids, then mom got into the picture, and finally dad agreed. (Fathers often link pets to a money drain.)
Picture
        A few years ago, our 8-year-old-grandson begged for a pet rabbit. If not a pet rabbit, then maybe a kitten, something soft and furry. He’d been playing with both animals in cages at local markets. After research, the parents settled on a male kitten. But not any male kitten. He came from a trusted litter and was not allowed to leave his mama until properly weaned. This meant, although he was ‘given’ the kitten on his birthday, our grandson couldn’t physically own him until at least six weeks later. But visit ‘his’ kitten he did, hold him he did, snuggle him he did. The day he brought him home was the day his parents took a photo of him with Bear (his kitten’s name) in his arms. His last words before falling asleep were “this is the happiest day of my life”. And Bear is still a happy member of the family.

Picture
        With kids home during this pandemic it was only a matter of time before another son fell victim to the pet syndrome. As he confessed, “it was almost child abuse” not to get a puppy. Enter one guardian puppy, a mini labradoodle, to be picked up this week. The excitement and preparations and longing for ‘Luna’ have reached a crescendo. Mama is as thrilled as the girls. Papa remains a little subdued, warning of care obligations, expenses, and on and on. But no-one’s listening.

        First son has not succumbed yet to the pet syndrome. His preteen twins have had their teeth weaned on hamsters but there has been talk. Mother is all for a puppy “this is the best time with everyone home” but so far…nada. We shall see.
Great Pyranees puppy
Border Collie puppies
This doesn’t count, of course, one of my bros whose family just picked up a Great Pyrenees pup while another beat the trend by recently welcoming a Border Collie pup.

        The crazy part is…all these fathers, including my husband, who complain about the work and expense of a pet, will fall madly in love with these adorable little critters. And these critters will be the ones who enthusiastically welcome home the hard-working dads. That is, when dads stop working from home.

To read our latest travel blog on Barcelona click here
4 Comments

    Author

    A day without writing is a day without sunshine.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    September 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

All authored material and photographs contained on this site are copyrighted © and the property of Heather Rath and cannot be reproduced without her written permission.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Bazar del Bizzarro, roland, Mike Kniec