Krista Marchisella
Pandemic Puppies: Examining the effects on puppies/dogs adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic. Has the increase in adoptions during this period positively or negatively effected these dogs?
Pandemic Puppies: During the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in dog adoptions all around the world. Due to lockdown, many puppies have missed out on the crucial socialization period of their lives, as well as developed behavioral issues and/or health issues, and face possible relinquishment due to owners returning to work. My research project examines data from several different databases in order to assess what effects there are on dogs adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According the data gathered, majority of these dogs are still in homes and have not been relinquished to shelters. However, the many of the puppies imported overseas have been affected negatively. Due to the demand for pets during the pandemic, there has been an increase of breeders forging health and vaccination records, resulting in the animals suffering from poor health. In addition, many imported puppies are at a higher risk of having behavioral issues, and thus a higher chance of being relinquished.
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sanfordjames
December 15, 2021 — 11:47 pm
Hi Krista,
This was a very interesting topic that shows a population that was also impacted by the pandemic in a unique manner. Human-dog companionship has been prevalent for quite some time, and I am not surprised that it has only increased with the lockdowns that have arisen from the pandemic. Naturally, many have questioned the drastic changes in pre-pandemic patterns to pandemic ones with something similar to a cost-benefit analysis. That is largely linked to one question that asks “What was the cost for such an outcome?” The trends you have revealed give some sense of hope that the pandemic may have resulted in more dogs finding a home, and I wonder how the quality of life factors can be measured in future research, and if the positive trend of the number of dogs housed is something more short-term and will change as people go back to in-person activities.
emilypilar1108
December 16, 2021 — 4:34 pm
I love your topic! You focused on an issue that I hadn’t considered could have been effected by the pandemic. I had never thought of how adoptions rates would increase and demand for puppies would rise due to the pandemic/quarantine. I appreciate your research into how puppy/dog health and development were effected by breeders speeding up processes and quicker shipping of puppies globally. Your findings on the conditions of shipment, young age, and lack of vaccines effecting puppies’ health is so important for people to know, thank you for choosing to share this research.