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Cited by 123Human-Animal Interaction StudiesCOVID-19 and Mental HealthAnimal Behavior and Welfare Studies

Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Spark a Public Interest in Pet Adoption?

Open access
Ho, Jeffery, Hussain, Sabir, Sparagano, Olivier·2021·Frontiers in Veterinary Science
DOI 10.3389/fvets.2021.647308PMC PMC8145284
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Abstract

This study aimed to determine if there has been an increase of global interest on pet adoption immediately after the WHO declaration of the pandemic and if the effect has been sustainable in 8 months on. We conducted a Google Trends search using keywords related to pet adoption. Relative search volume (RSV) was scored between 0 and 100 for the lowest and the highest, respectively. Top countries contributing to the dataset included Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia. From 2015 through 2020, the worldwide RSV for the categories of pet, dog and cat adoption peaked between April and May 2020, the early epidemic phase of the pandemic. These were significantly higher than the 5-year worldwide average RSV for all three categories (P = 0.001). Comparing to the same period in 2019, the RSV ratio (2020/2019) for both dog and cat adoption increased by up to 250%. Nonetheless, the RSV for dog adoption has been decreasing since July 2020 and returned to the 5-year average by December 2020. In contrast, the interest in cat adoption remained sustainably high, possibly reflecting the feline acclimation to indoor living. In conclusion, the global interest in pet adoptions surged in the early phase of the pandemic but not sustainable. With the launch of COVID-19 vaccines, there is a concern for separation anxiety and possible abandonment of these newly adopted pets when the owners would leave their homes for work in the future.

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  • These decisions may have been related to the increased number of people working from home, home schooling, and restrictions on leaving the home for non-essential reasons.

    “These decisions may have been related to the increased number of people working from home, home schooling, and restrictions on leaving the home for non-essential reasons (32, 43–45).”

    From Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Peri-pandemic pets at greatest risk of relinquishment (2022) · cites this paper as [43]

    The Introduction describes working-from-home policies and more time spent at home alongside reports of increased pet adoption; the Discussion also mentions lockdown confinement. The paper does not discuss home schooling as a possible reason for adoption decisions, so it supports only part of the proposed explanation. The indexed copy provides section labels but no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Problems may be exacerbated by inexperience with pet ownership in those that acquired a pet post-pandemic.

    “What's more, problems may be exacerbated by inexperience with pet ownership in those that acquired a pet post-pandemic (43).”

    From Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Peri-pandemic pets at greatest risk of relinquishment (2022) · cites this paper as [43]

    The Discussion says separation-anxiety-related behavioral problems may overwhelm inexperienced first-time owners who adopted pets during the pandemic. It does not address people who acquired pets post-pandemic, and it describes inexperience as making the problems harder for owners to manage rather than worsening the problems themselves. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Evidence suggests that the chance of companion animals spreading COVID-19 is low.

    “However, evidence suggests that the chance of companion animals spreading COVID-19 is low (43).”

    From Companion animal adoption and relinquishment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Peri-pandemic pets at greatest risk of relinquishment (2022) · cites this paper as [43]

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Sorted by citations

Authors
Ho, J., Hussain, S., & Sparagano, O.
Affiliations
City University of Hong Kong (HK)
Corresponding author
Sparagano, Olivier
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Veterinary Science
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2021-05-07
Volume
8
Pages
647308-647308
ISSN
2297-1769 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fvets.2021.647308
PMC
PMC8145284
OpenAlex
W3161822583
Cited by
123
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 10
FWCI
13.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Veterinary Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • CityU Scholars (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Greater South Information System
Funders
City University of Hong Kong (9380108)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Human-Animal Interaction Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, pet adoption, dog adoption, cat adoption, public interest, Google Trends, relative search volume, pet abandonment, separation anxiety, COVID-19 vaccines

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