Interesting facts about pets in the pandemic

One out of three households got a new pet during the pandemic. Surveys in Spain, Israel and the United Kingdom found remarkably similar results. People believed that pets would help them or their families get through the crisis.

Globally, more than half the world’s population shares their lives with pets, according to Science Daily. And 2020 saw a record-breaking year for spending on pets – $260 billion worldwide.

And our connections with animals went up in other ways, too. A British study found 55% percent of participants said they watched and fed birds in their yards and last spring and summer the United States suffered shortages of bird food in some areas.

78% of pet owners said having a pet reduced their stress or anxiety, 75% said pets reduce boredom and monotony and 74% said pets reduced depression during COVID-19.

Pets are no replacement for being with other people but they can help.

“Touch is an understudied sense, but existing evidence indicates it is crucial for growth, development and health, as well as reducing the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body,” says Dr. Janette Young who led a South Australian study about how pets are helping people get by with less human contact. “Touch may be particularly important for older people as other senses decline.”

An Israeli study showed a big increase in dog adoptions but that 80% of new dog owners during the pandemic were already planning to get a dog but the pandemic hastened their decision. A Rover.com survey showed that only 13% of those getting a pet during the pandemic we adopting their first pet. Most already had at least one pet already. Fifty-three percent of people in that survey got a dog, with 32% got a cat and 14% got a dog and a cat.

Dogs have thrived with more people at home. They typically get more attention, more walks and more playtime than in their pre-pandemic world. Cats, some of whom were good at social distancing before the pandemic, may have become more attentive and affectionate with more people at home, too. A return to normal, especially for an animal who has never experienced an empty house, can be a big stress on any pet, but especially these new pets who have only known their owners during a pandemic.

Overall, pets were a positive during the pandemic. “The positives are few and far between” from the pandemic, says Emily McCobb, an associate professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuffs University. “So we have to keep them if we can.”