Living alone and wanting a dog during COVID

[handiacefailure]

 

I'm jealous of the dog:)

[+ Charlie]

I'd adopt a dog if you have always wanted one and can take care of him. Now might be a good time to get one if you are working from home during this so you'll be home to bond with him and have time to properly housebreak and train him.

 

Not sure if the shelters are open now or not and if foster's would want someone in their home. In some big cities people are adopting or fostering pets from people who have or died from Corona. Something to keep in mind though is taking the dog to the vet and if it requires grooming. With restrictions being eased it might not be that big of a problem soon but my sister hasn't been able to have her dog groomed since March because groomers were ordered closed. My cat's are due in this month for their annual vaccines and exam and my vet postponed their visit until July. And for the patients he is seeing you have to drive up in your car and an assistant comes and gets the pets and you have to wait in your car and they bring the pet back out. I'm sure a vet will see a new pet for vaccines and an exam and if you have to neuter him. My cats get timid if I'm not with them so I want to make sure I can be in the exam room with them.

 

I wouldn't let a fear of getting the virus stop you from getting a dog as long as you'll be home during this and not have to rely on a dog walker or pet sitter. I have the fear of what will happen to my cats if I die and am hoping my sister will take them. They are purebred Burmese cats that are very loving so I'm sure a burmese cat rescue would find them a good home easily. I just want to make sure they get adopted out together. You can get sick or injured anytime. I broke my femur and was in the hospital for almost a month between the surgery and the rehab place. I use a cat sitter when I travel and when I was in the ER and heard what I had to go through, I immediately called the cat sitter and was fortunate enough she was available the entire time I was laid up. She came every other day and the other days I had my parents or sister or a friend go and grab my mail and they would feed them and change the water.

 

Have you thought about getting a cat? You don't have to walk them and if you travel or get sick someone just needs to come in once a day to feed them and change the water and clean the litter box and you don't have to housebreak a cat. Some cats can be very loyal and like a dog.

 

I have two burmese cats and they are like a dog personality wise with the care of a cat. They'll sit on my lap all the time and sleep with me. The breeder I got my oldest one from calls them velcro cats because they stick to their owners like velcro LOL

Places like Petco that sell pet food are considered essential businesses and are allowed to stay open; since they also do grooming, they have been allowed to continue, although businesses that do only grooming have not been allowed. However, our groomer works out of her home and does only one animal at a time, so I drop the dog off at her front door, and pick him up there when she calls and says he is ready.

 

The advantage of a cat is that he/she doesn't need to be walked. The advantage of a dog is that he/she does need to be walked, which is an excuse to get out of the house and get some exercise.

 

At the beginning of the lockdown, many shelters were almost emptied by people looking for animals to adopt as companions, but the shelters are worried that many of those animals may be returned when the adopters' regular lifestyles resume. They are also concerned that as people's finances are constrained by the economic collapse, may pets will be turned over to shelters, just as they were during the Great Recession a decade ago.

[handiacefailure]

Places like Petco that sell pet food are considered essential businesses and are allowed to stay open; since they also do grooming, they have been allowed to continue, although businesses that do only grooming have not been allowed. However, our groomer works out of her home and does only one animal at a time, so I drop the dog off at her front door, and pick him up there when she calls and says he is ready.

 

The advantage of a cat is that he/she doesn't need to be walked. The advantage of a dog is that he/she does need to be walked, which is an excuse to get out of the house and get some exercise.

 

At the beginning of the lockdown, many shelters were almost emptied by people looking for animals to adopt as companions, but the shelters are worried that many of those animals may be returned when the adopters' regular lifestyles resume. They are also concerned that as people's finances are constrained by the economic collapse, may pets will be turned over to shelters, just as they were during the Great Recession a decade ago.

 

A pet is a big financial responsibility and a lot of people who buy pets don't take that into account. A serious pet illness can easily costs a lot more than a human pet visit.

 

I think it's a YMMV situation by state for places like petco and vets to be able to do grooming. I am pretty sure here they aren't allowed to, kind of like if there is a spa or gym in a hotel. I'm sure a lot of dog groomers are working out of their homes though, I know a couple people who cut hair and they still doing it on the down-low out of their houses (I haven't had mine cut but a friend of mine did and said the lady is calling herself a kitchen beautician) but it's a lot safe having a dog groomed than having your haircut.

[+ Charlie]

The fear I expressed earlier is starting to happen. The Palm Springs shelter is in the news today because people are starting to give up dogs that they adopted earlier in the pandemic, now that they are having financial difficulties.

[Luv2play]

Those look like the Old fashioned "muzzels" people used to put on dogs to keep them from nipping at people. It always made me sad when I saw a dog with ones of those. I thought they were suffering.

My female Labrador had to wear one of those “muzzles” because she was an inveterate poop eater. Apparently female dogs are more prone to this as they have the instinct to clean up their litter. In any case, as she got older her appetite grew to the point I got a muzzle for her. She was the friendliest of dogs and I know her muzzle stigmatized her but I had little choice.

[Luv2play]

BTW I also vote in favour of getting a dog IF you consider all aspects of the commitment; emotional, time, financial, proper care and feeding, exercise and all the other things a dog requires to be healthy and happy. An unhappy dog will take it out on you and your house and furnishings. I got my first dog at the height of the AIDS epidemic before effective treatments were developed. Friends of mine were dropping like flies but I took the step as a bet on my future. Twenty five years later I got another dog after I had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and before I had entered treatment. Again an affirmation of my future. For insurance I called him Lucky. Four years later I found another dog and adopted him to be Lucky’s pal. Lucky died of old age a year and a half ago and my other dog keeps me healthy, emotionally and physically (those walks every day, rain or shine or snow, do wonders for me as well). If something were to happen to me, I have a family that is dog crazy and he would be well taken care of if I were gone. You only have one life to live and putting something off that you want and think would add to your life means foregoing your happiness today and in the future, something you can never get back.

[+ keroscenefire]

So gents, I am a single man who lives alone. I have wanted a dog for a long time but when i was working it was too hard with my schedule. I am now retired and was about to volunteer at a no kill shelter but COVID has postponed that opportunity. I feel like I could really use the emotional support of a dog, however, I am wondering if wise with this virus raging. Say I adopted/fostered a dog and caught COVID. Who would take care of the dog (i.e. walks, etc.). I suppose this scenario could be applied to if I got cancer, etc with the exception of being able to hire a dog walker.

 

So i guess my question is, any single men out there with a dog and if so, are you making contingency plans in case you become infected with COVID?

 

Thanks

 

Jon

 

What kind of home do you live in? If you had a backyard, you could probably be fine just walking the dog yourself back there if you had COVID if the worry is simply about infecting others. It can be a rough illness but the vast majority of people do not have to go to the hospital and you should be able to basically care for you dog if you had a backyard. I'm sure the pup would want longer walks but it would probably be okay without them for a couple weeks. Might consider smaller dogs that don't require as much walking. Of course you might have to go to the hospital with COVID, but you might have to go to the hospital for a lot of things. I think if you had a couple of friends who could step in to watch the dog temporarily if something happened, that would be the best option. You can give them a key to your place and they can pick up the dog. As long as they wore a mask and washed their hands really well, it wouldn't be super likely they would get COVID.

[rustyrex]

My go to guy told me he had a dog since the last time I saw him. I was like really? Where is it? He told me he got rid of it. I asked him why and he said the dog couldn’t be left alone. He would go to the store and the dog would freak out and tear the house up and bark so much that his neighbors started complaining. It got so bad he started getting notes left at his door about the dog. After a month he gave the dog back to the adoption agency and hasn’t looked back since. He calculated he spent well over $1000 in costs just to have the dog around! Maybe that’s why he decided to do massage again....

[+ purplekow]

My go to guy told me he had a dog since the last time I saw him. I was like really? Where is it? He told me he got rid of it. I asked him why and he said the dog couldn’t be left alone. He would go to the store and the dog would freak out and tear the house up and bark so much that his neighbors started complaining. It got so bad he started getting notes left at his door about the dog. After a month he gave the dog back to the adoption agency and hasn’t looked back since. He calculated he spent well over $1000 in costs just to have the dog around! Maybe that’s why he decided to do massage again....

Dog probably had separation anxiety and with some time and proper technique the dog could have been trained out of that behavior. A dog is an undertaking and a great dog does not always start out as perfect as we would like. I now have two perfect dogs that were fairly imperfect when they first came into my life.

[njr47]

Who is this incredibly handsome young guy?? Please advise.

[+ purplekow]

I'm jealous of the dog:)

Handsome guy but if he is indifferent to a dog how would he be with a human?

[+ WilliamM]

Handsome guy but if he is indifferent to a dog how would he be with a human?

 

I am indifferent to most dogs because I I was bitten by a German Shepherd as a kid.

 

Again, I wrote most dogs, certainly not all.