Forget People, Spend Time with your Pets!

By: Jordan Johnson '22

Before March 13th of 2020, all of us students were busy with school and extracurricular activities, so it was very hard to spend time with our pets. Our pets are the ones who are always waiting for us to be done with whatever we are doing so that they have time to play or go for a walk, but by the time we got home, most of us were exhausted and needed to get our homework done. Once quarantine took over, we were finally able to have some time to give them the love and attention that they’ve been wanting.

Since we have converted to a virtual learning environment, we all have been spending much more time at home. This has allowed for us to be with our loving companions all day every day since we aren’t as occupied anymore. For example, I have been able to go on more walks with my family as well as my dogs because all of us are stuck at home. This is something that my family was not able to do before due to the fact that my siblings and I had practice, our parents were always working late, and we had a ton of homework that we had to complete whenever we had free time.

Some may think it is a struggle to have a pet in quarantine since there aren’t many activities we can do, but there are a lot of solutions to this problem. To spend more time with them, you could go for a walk around the neighborhood, play in the backyard, or even just sit at home and cuddle with them! These simple tasks could even benefit you. For example, they can allow for you to get more exercise and to get some fresh air which is essential since we spend most of the day looking at a computer screen.

Alissa Lara, a SOCES junior, is someone who thinks that quarantine has made it easier for her to have pets. Alissa has two dogs and seems to find that it is easier to bond and take care of them since she has more time. She said, “Although quarantine has given me more time to be with my pets, it has also stopped me from going to the dog park which was where we used to go so they can play and socialize with other dogs.”

Many are able to agree that our pets are the reason why most of us don’t feel alone during this time. We know that we can always count on our pets, and they will never leave our sides. This quarantine has given us a lot of time to shower them with love and to really develop a deeper connection with them! You may feel concerned about leaving them again once things go back to normal since you might not have all the time that you used to, but it’s important to always give your pet some sort of attention whether it’s a 10 minute walk or even a few minutes of playing time. Our pets always appreciate everything we do for them!