BF OUR BEST FRIENDS
TheJournalNJ.com | MAY 2020 53
Stressful Beginnings Equal Happy
Endings with Our Pets
BY DIANE L. GRIGG
We are all connected whether
we want to acknowledge it or
not. There is an invisible web
of energy that we share with our family,
friends, community and the world.
This network may stretch and bend,
but ultimately when things go south,
it is those links that get us through.
They protect us from catastrophic
harm. At no time in history has this
been truer. Never before has this
global matrix been more evident. We
sympathize, empathize and reach out
to each other. The pandemic of 2020 is
a turning point in history, and we are
pressed to take notice – imposed by an
invisible foe to open our eyes and see
firsthand the unbearable, unspeakable
truths that the COVID-19 virus
has given birth to.
The motto has been that we are in
this together, for better or worse. This
pandemic has taken our systematic
structured world and turned it upside
down. We are not able to go to work,
and life is at a standstill. Our creatures, through no fault of their own, are
stuck with us all day every day, with no end in sight. Think about our animals,
many used to their own routines, their own flow, watching us move
smoothly and readily through our day. They are now quizzical, annoyed,
befuddled. Some are downright elated that they have someone to play
with every moment of the day. Even while we are working virtually, our
friends just want to have fun.
There’s no more blithely staring out a sunny window, contemplating
everything and nothing. Gone are the quiet naps which last for hours.
And yet, once the initial surprise wears off, there is a unique realization
that this arrangement may not be bad. Our animals bring us comfort,
reduce stress, mend loneliness and boredom. Their restorative energy
allows us to better cope with the uncertainty of this single, catastrophic
event. Our best friends, by their very nature, reduce negativity and
moodiness.
As days melt into one another and time just keeps on rolling, as
the news and social media pummel us with perhaps too much information,
isolation has proved to have a positive side, fostering and adoption.
Never before has the human-animal bond been stronger. The desperate
need for companionship has produced a monumental request for companion
animals all across the country. Decisions are made quickly as social
distancing precludes visiting local shelters. Many animals are looked
at virtually. Adoptions and fostering applications are completed online,
and picking up a new friend is done outside. And yet it is working.
Dr. Apryl Steele, president and CEO of Dumb Friends Leaque in
Denver, states there is a waiting list of 2,000 people wanting to foster.
San Francisco SPCA has a list of 1,600 people championing to foster animals
in need. The Oregon Humane Society has 1,000 volunteers. The
Washington D.C. Humane Rescue Alliance had 1,000 requests in a 10-
day period. When humans get sick, animals suffer. When the caregiver
is not around, these animals need care. The act of fostering and possibly
adopting a shelter animal makes room for the many who have nowhere
to go. Fostering promotes socialization and takes an animal from isolation
to having a real chance of a forever home.
All of humanity and nature rests upon the coming together of collective
resources to battle a foe we cannot see. It is an opportunity to do
good. When we open our hearts and homes to the companion animals
in our community, we are sending a message of hope that life will go on.
The victory is sweeter when we have a best friend by our side. Anecdotes
abound as people post stories about being with their animals all day every
day. Many are funny, others poignant. Yet the consensus is this: we
would rather be with our animal sidekicks than be without them. As the
world keeps spinning, their energy keeps us going.
Change is inevitable. Love keeps us in motion. It quietly gives us
reasons to be optimistic and know that something good will come out
of all this. That hope sometimes comes in little bits, like the wag of a tail,
a contented purr or the tweet of a feathered conversation. When things
return to a new normal, and they will, our best friends will wake up one
day and wonder where we are. They will miss us, long for us. Look for us.
Well, maybe for 10 minutes. Then they will sigh, stretch and take a nice,
long nap.
/TheJournalNJ.com