As cases rose, schools shut down, shops were vacant and smiles where sparse many of us turned to a furry friend to seek solace in. No bad can come from a dog we thought! No stress or loneliness, for their sweet and docile faces, their calamitous and padded paws are all you need in the midsts of corona’s darkness.

 

  Just like many dogs across the country, my dog is part of the “COVID” generation. Anouki Brownlow a dog owner since 2019 says that “having a dog is amazing full stop” but that getting a dog in lockdowns “meant we had all the time in the world to train and bond with her”.  Born on the 30th December 2019 my sweet cocker spaniel (mad and frustrating as she may be) was born into bliss. She got all the coddling a dinky little pup should deserve. All the toys and all the treats she could ask for. Until… March 2020 hit. And well, you know the rest. Anouki said having a dog was integral to her families lockdown, as “it gave the family a focus to go on a walk everyday , the dog took over the routine of school and work, it was like a new job” and a great distraction. 

 

Suddenly Harley (my dog) wasn’t the only adorable, wriggling, squirming, playful bundle of black fluff on our road or down the park. Nor was she the only frolicking four legged friend at cafés or the smallest in her puppy class. Oh no! She was the oldest and the most played with toy in the box. Turns out everyone had raided the puppy pantry. The panic for a puppy became unheard of.  It was a PAWDEMIC!

 

Soon enough, breeders had caught onto this sudden demand within a matter of weeks, urging them to raise the prices of pups to eye watering numbers. From the popular Pets4Homes website, based on about 150,000 adverts, it showed the average price being asked from March to September was £1,883. During the same period last year the average price was £888, meaning that prices doubled. Anouki admitted that the “prices were a bit crazy”, “our dog was bought before lockdown for £600 and three months into covid the same type of dog was suddenly £3000”.  Animal welfare organisations warned that these prices would encourage puppy farming and online scams. As the pawdemic progressed puppy farms were not the only issues we saw when it came to dogs. Dog theft arose- leaving us scared to let our dogs roam free. Missing posters draped the streets and flooded the news. Even lady gaga was a victim of dog theft.  The pop-star’s dog walker (Ryan Fischer) was held at gunpoint and forced to hand over all three of her french bulldogs. Thankfully, they were found unharmed two days after the event. However this isn’t the case for everyone. Rick Brownlow sad “it’s all wrong” that people were stealing puppy’s to “sell them on at such inflated prices”.  

 

The chaos that unfurled across Britain in order to claim a canine left us wondering how and what we could do prevent this from continuing or ever happening again. This brought along the introduction of Lucy’s Law. Spelling the end of puppy farming, this new law meant that all third party puppy sales were banned. Coming into place 6 April 2021, all people when looking to buy a puppy (or a kitten) must now buy direct from a breeder or consider adoptions from rescue centres.  With the aim to put an end to low-welfare and high volume supply of puppy’s and kittens in England. Resulting failure to comply to Lucy’s Law could leave business facing unlimited fines or a prison sentence up to six months.

 

Puppy farms usually sell dogs that are sick, traumatised and unsocialised. Not forgetting that they have been taken from their mother’s at just a few weeks old. There have been far too many reports claiming that they have bought puppy’s that have involved long distance transportation despite the animal suffering life threatening, behavioural, medical or surgical issues. Being passed unknowingly onto the new owners. Anouki said that it was clear that “people hadn’t through it through, and had to re evaluate their decision”.

 

So why were we so desperate to welcome a new family member since the pandemic. Perhaps the amount of time we were spending at home and away from work, leaving us plenty of times for “walkies”. Or, social isolation left us lonely and pining for a helping paw. Anouki Brownlow stated “it seemed like the perfect opportunity to raise and look after a dog”.  Regardless of your reason, many, many people had the same idea. The boom in animal ownership has resulted an unprecedented growth in sales for pet food manufacturers, leading to shortages of certain pet food products.

 

 However the RSPCA warned that the boom in pet ownership could turn into a crisis once owners returned to work after lockdown, meaning they cannot give the right attention that a pet demands. Currently, we’re facing a major dog welfare crisis as hundreds of dogs have been  relinquished to rescue centres, sold online and even abandoned when the return of normal life has left them unable to appropriately care for their dog. Not only has abandonment been a huge issue, so many dogs have gotten used to having their owners at home and at their beck and call- research suggests that separation related anxiety effects 85% of dogs. Making it all the more important that we introduce to our pets the routine they and we will face post lockdown Anouki warned “people really really do have to stop and think about the amount of time they realistically have for a dog” . Rick Brownlow said that “a dog is definitely man’s best friend, you wouldn’t leave your best friend alone for hours with no food or water, so why are people doing this?”. 

 

After all, a dog is for life not just for lockdown.