Some Owners Are Experiencing Guilt And Resentment About Their Pandemic Pets - BuzzFeed News

It costs $50 per day for Frankie to go to daycare, while it costs $20 per day for Avery's human son to go to before- and after-school care.

"When we were looking at our budget, I knew I would have to give up special stuff for me to make sure she's cared for."

On the days Frankie doesn't go to doggie daycare, Avery gets up at 5:30 a.m. to walk her and then also plays with her after work.

"She's a German shepherd," Avery said. "She's a working dog. It's not like I can just throw a toy around for 10 minutes. She needs work."

Without the physical simulation, Frankie will often chew something up. "I would say in the first six months, I lost all of my work shoes," Avery said.

After people all over the world entered lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, many adopted a pet to help with their boredom and loneliness. According to a 2021 study by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1 in 5 American households adopted or bought a cat or dog during the pandemic. The majority of those animals have stayed with their owners, but now that most Americans have returned to working in the office either part-time or full-time, some people are now wrestling with their pets' behavioral issues, their own complicated feelings about being apart from their animals, or even regret.

Most respondents to the ASPCA survey reported that they had not rehomed their pandemic pet. But the Guardian reported in October that no-kill shelter New York Animal Care Centers has seen a 25% increase in pet surrenders this year, compared to 2021. And there are other growing pressures on pet owners: A Forbes Advisor survey in August found that "nearly two-thirds (63%) of pet owners said inflation has made it more difficult to pay a surprise vet bill."

Shannon Kirkman, director of development and communications at Animal Haven, told BuzzFeed News that if someone is regretting adopting a pet because it ended up being harder to train, then animal rescues typically provide resources to help.

"But more than anything, if you have a pet in your home and it is not working out for you, then it's not a good situation for you or the pet," Kirkman told BuzzFeed News.

"We will always accept a pet back in our care, whether they've been with you for 24 hours or for 15 years. We never want someone to feel like they're forced to keep an animal in their home when it's not working out for them."

According to a study by the National Library of Medicine, pet-related guilt is typically unrecognized and unacknowledged, and not understood by people who don't have pets. This often leads to pet owners feeling anxious or depressed.