The Concerns, Difficulties, and Stressors of Caring for Pets during COVID-19: Results from a Large Survey of U.S. Pet Owners

Applebaum, Jennifer W.; Tomlinson, Camie A.; Matijczak, Angela; McDonald, Shelby E.; Zsembik, Barbara A.

doi:10.3390/ani10101882

Cited by 137 publications

(190 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Eighty-four percent of respondents reported feeling more attuned to their pet's health, and 37% report paying more attention to their pet's care. Other recent studies have reported similar concerns in the United States as well as Spain and the United Kingdom ( 5 – 7 ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 65%

“…This situation was unprecedented, resulting in a great deal of anxiety and uncertainly about the future. This anxiety encompassed all areas of daily living, so it is not surprising that dog owners felt significant concerns related to providing for their dog, nor the fact that these concerns have been expressed by other dog owners in the United States as well as Spain and the United Kingdom ( 5 – 7 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Initial Months of COVID-19: Dog Owners' Veterinary-Related Concerns

et al. 2021

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Veterinarians, like many other professions, were significantly impacted by the onset of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020. Standard practices were disrupted, and veterinary hospitals had to quickly modify standard protocols to safely serve their clients and patients. The purpose of this study was to better understand dog owners' fears and concerns pertaining to veterinary care and obtainment of pet care products and food during the lock down phase of a pandemic to be better prepared to address these concerns now and in the future. To this end, an online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey was designed and distributed to adult dog owners via social media. The results, from a total of 4,105 participants (the majority from the United States and Canada), indicated substantial areas of concern. The number one concern of dog owners during this time was the availability of emergency veterinary care. Owners under 30 years of age, compared to older owners, were significantly more concerned about both availability and cost of veterinary care (emergency and non-emergency). The ability to care for one's dog if they were to become ill was a concern for many owners, yet only 60% had identified a caretaker for their dog if one was needed. These results suggest that the majority of dog owners remained true steadfast guardians of their dogs, continuing to make them a priority, even during pandemic times. Suggestions to help mitigate dog owners' concerns and improve communication between owners and veterinarian teams are offered.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Initial Months of COVID-19: Dog Owners' Veterinary-Related Concerns

et al. 2021

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“…A survey study in the US indicated that pet owners experienced unique hardships related to changes in everyday life from the COVID-19 pandemic. They also recommended that these hardships should be considered alongside the potential benefits of pet ownership in order to manage pet owner expectations, prevent pet relinquishment, and more fully understand multifaceted human-companion animal relationships ( Applebaum et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

One welfare impacts of COVID-19 – A summary of key highlights within the one welfare framework

Pinillos¹

2021

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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One Welfare describes the interconnection between animal welfare, human wellbeing and their physical and social environment. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is the cause of COVID-19 and emerged as a human pathogen in 2019 although is thought to have a zoonotic source. The original wildlife reservoir and any potential intermediate hosts have not yet been identified. The combination of the virus zoonotic condition together with the impacts of disease control measures has exposed clear interconnections between animals, people and their environment from both a health and a welfare perspective. The One Welfare Framework comprises five sections that can help understand the different One Welfare levels on which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world. This paper uses the One Welfare Framework to provide an overview of examples, within each of the five sections, where evidence is and/or can be made available to document COVID-19 impacts on One Welfare. The paper identifies a number of areas where further research and evidence gathering is required to better understand the different One Welfare impacts. Based on evidence summarised in this paper the author recommends that those responsible for managing the COVID-19 impacts and for planning the future recovery phase of the pandemic should consider adopting a holistic approach, including both health and welfare, by adopting & One Health, One Welfare& policies.

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“…At the same time, studies also document stressors associated with caring for pets amidst the pandemic. A study based in the U.S. found that pet owners reported several forms of caretaking stress, such as the inability to socialize their pet, difficulties obtaining resources (e.g., food, litter, medication), and managing behavioral issues (e.g., barking, attention-seeking) that disrupted telework routines [ 21 ]. Further, a study of pet owners living in the U.S. found that owners who were more attached to their pet were more likely to report delaying COVID testing or treatment due to worries about their pet’s welfare [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also hypothesized that some of those with a less severe symptom profile (e.g., low, mild) at pre-COVID would transition to a more severe symptom profile, which is based on evidence that the pandemic has led to higher rates of depression and anxiety [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Finally, we expected that attachment to pets would predict changes in psychological adjustment based on prior research documenting both the negative and positive effects of HAI (e.g., [ 18 , 21 , 22 ]). We were not able to make any more specific predictions about the effects of attachment to pets on transitions in subgroup membership over time given that no prior HAI studies have utilized a person-centered approach to examine changes in psychological adjustment before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attachment to Pets Moderates Transitions in Latent Patterns of Mental Health Following the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Survey of U.S. Adults

McDonald

O’Connor

Matijczak

et al. 2021

Animals

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This cross-sectional study examined whether, and to what extent, attachment to pets was associated with changes in latent patterns of adults’ perceived mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 1942). We used latent transition analysis to determine the stability of subgroup membership pre- and post-COVID and the effect of attachment to pets on transition probabilities. Mental health before COVID-19 was measured retrospectively. Five subgroups were identified: low symptoms, mild symptoms, moderate symptoms, high symptoms, and severe symptoms. Among individuals in the moderate and high symptoms subgroups, those who reported high attachment to pets generally had greater odds of transitioning to a less severe symptom profile (OR = 2.12) over time than those with low attachment to pets (OR = 1.39). However, those who had a severe symptom profile and high attachment to pets had lower odds of transitioning to a less severe symptom profile (OR = 0.30) and higher odds of maintaining a severe symptom profile (OR = 3.33) than those with low attachment to pets. These findings suggest that the protective and risk effects of attachment to pets differ based on individuals’ psychological symptom patterns across multiple indicators. We discuss the implications of these findings for research, policy, and practice.

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The Concerns, Difficulties, and Stressors of Caring for Pets during COVID-19: Results from a Large Survey of U.S. Pet Owners

Cited by 137 publications

References 60 publications

The Initial Months of COVID-19: Dog Owners' Veterinary-Related Concerns

The Initial Months of COVID-19: Dog Owners' Veterinary-Related Concerns

One welfare impacts of COVID-19 – A summary of key highlights within the one welfare framework

Attachment to Pets Moderates Transitions in Latent Patterns of Mental Health Following the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Survey of U.S. Adults

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