A furry friend always brings joy and happiness to a home. This might be why pet adoptions have gone up since the corona virus hit.  

An increase in social isolation and time spent at home provides the perfect reason to adopt a dog or cat. Social distancing means not as many outings are held, so that frees up available money otherwise spent on dinner at a restaurant. Many schools and workplaces are also closed and virtual, meaning people are spending more time in their houses. 

Because of this, shelters are seeing more cats and dogs finding homes. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals saw a 70 percent increase in families fostering animals in late March compared to last year, according to cnbc.com. 

Locally, the Nebraska Humane Society adopted out 649 animals just in November; 212 being dogs, 347 cats, and 90 “critters” (guinea pigs, bunnies, etc). This number is “a lot” according to the NHS’s tik tok published Dec. 5. 

These higher adoption rates are not only helping shelters out, but pet owners benefit too. Studies show that those who own a dog reported lower levels of stress and blood pressure, according to time.com. Due to the corona virus, worry and stress are running rampant, but dogs can help people handle the anxiety. 

Dogs also keep people more active. With people being confined to their homes in order to keep socially distant, people aren’t moving and exercising like they once did. Dogs have been proven to keep people more active, amounting to “an additional 23 daily minutes of moderate exercise” for the owners compared to those who don’t own dogs, according to Time.  

Although the corona virus has taken a huge toll on the United States, pets have helped their owners through it with support and exercise. Now, people and pets alike are able to get through this together with the comfort they provide to each other during these difficult times.