If Animals Could Talk
By Felicia Felip
It's a shame that animals can't talk, because they might tell us that 2020 was a banner year for them! Animal adoptions soared during the pandemic, with over 11 million animals in the USA finding their forever homes (source: WSJ 12/30/20). Sharing sofas during TV binge-watching, taking frequent naps with their previously absent owners, helping type reports on laptops, lying on piles of paper on the kitchen table, photo-bombing work Zoom calls, in addition to getting multiple walks and socializing every day--companion animals had hit the jackpot!
Fortunately, as isolation continued to grow stricter, pet adoption across the world increased while the number of abandoned animals remained about the same (source: Humanities & Social Sciences Communications 11/24/20). This instinctive desire to have an animal by our side may date back 15,000 years to the first recorded dog found buried with two humans (Janssens et. al, 2016). Perhaps our ancient DNA whispers to us that we know during difficult times the human-animal bond can help reduce stress, depression, anxiety and improve mental health as multiple recent studies show? Surprisingly, introducing a companion animal into the home because of loneliness was only the third most popular reason people adopted in 2020--the top motivation was that they had more time to devote to an animal, followed by wanting to help provide a home for those animals who were given up.
Of course, keeping the kids busy when they were not doing online classes came in fourth, and the fifth most popular reason to adopt was it gave the owner an excuse to leave the house and get some fresh air! (source: Humanities & Social Sciences Communications 11/24/20) Regardless of the reason, having any type of animal by our side means we have the ability to give and receive love, kindness and companionship and feel happier (WSJ 12/30/20) by their presence in our life. That sounds like the best medicine any of us could ask for!
If you are interested in adopting or fostering an animal, please contact the Humane Society of Sedona at 928-282-4679 between 10am and 4pm daily to make an appointment to see an animal you might be interested in which can be found on https://www.humanesocietyofsedona.org/adopt/
Felicia Filep
Director of Development
Humane Society of Sedona
Fortunately, as isolation continued to grow stricter, pet adoption across the world increased while the number of abandoned animals remained about the same (source: Humanities & Social Sciences Communications 11/24/20). This instinctive desire to have an animal by our side may date back 15,000 years to the first recorded dog found buried with two humans (Janssens et. al, 2016). Perhaps our ancient DNA whispers to us that we know during difficult times the human-animal bond can help reduce stress, depression, anxiety and improve mental health as multiple recent studies show? Surprisingly, introducing a companion animal into the home because of loneliness was only the third most popular reason people adopted in 2020--the top motivation was that they had more time to devote to an animal, followed by wanting to help provide a home for those animals who were given up.
Of course, keeping the kids busy when they were not doing online classes came in fourth, and the fifth most popular reason to adopt was it gave the owner an excuse to leave the house and get some fresh air! (source: Humanities & Social Sciences Communications 11/24/20) Regardless of the reason, having any type of animal by our side means we have the ability to give and receive love, kindness and companionship and feel happier (WSJ 12/30/20) by their presence in our life. That sounds like the best medicine any of us could ask for!
If you are interested in adopting or fostering an animal, please contact the Humane Society of Sedona at 928-282-4679 between 10am and 4pm daily to make an appointment to see an animal you might be interested in which can be found on https://www.humanesocietyofsedona.org/adopt/
Felicia Filep
Director of Development
Humane Society of Sedona