Our Pets in the Time of Coronavirus

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Posted 2020-07-10 by Belladonna ⇒ follow

Dear Humans of Canberra,We are Harry, Rafey, Shadow, Sprockett, Daisy, Lester and Lou Lou. In many ways, we are very much like you. We love our food, we love our naps, we enjoy walking in our glorious bush capital, we love our day spas and pedicures, we love the beach, at least one of us just can't get enough of photoshoots, and just like all of you, we've been in lockdown, too.

But we are also very, very different from you. After all, we have more fur covering our faces and bodies, and each of us has four legs and a tail. We are the dogs and cats of Canberra, and we would like to share with you our stories and the stories of the humans we live with during this time of Coronavirus.

Harry
Hi there! I'm Harry, the fur baby of Victoria. I'm a pure-bred West Highland White Terrier and I'm almost 11 years old. Like my mum, I'm originally a Queenslander but I followed her to Canberra when she got a job down here.

I've adjusted to my Canberra life really well. My mum loves taking care of me and spoiling me. She takes me for lots of walks around the lake or Weston Park; she brushes my teeth often and brushes my two coats regularly (I have a topcoat and an undercoat), but I don't really like her brushing me. I kicked her in the head once when she tried to brush under my arms!; she carefully pre-prepares all of my meals and treats (unfortunately I have food allergies like many of you do); she books me in for regular spa days which have to be booked a year in advance; she often takes me with her when she travels back to Queensland or Sydney to visit our extended family, and she even cancels trips away or nights out with friends just so that I'm not left alone for hours on end.

I've enjoyed having mum at home during lockdown. I have my two beds beside her in the dining room. While mum's doing her work from home, I either fall asleep next to her or just sit there and look out the window at the big world beyond. I love talking to anyone and everyone who walks, cycles or drives past our window. Mum doesn't enjoy my talking, though, and she's told me off plenty of times. But I love saying hello to everyone and giving them my opinions!

I know my mum has had other dogs and even cats before in her previous lifetimes, but we don't talk about them! I know in my heart that I've always been her favourite. She's a Westie girl, she loves me, and I love her.

Rafey
Hi! I'm Rafael, but you can call me Rafey. I'm a 7 year old Basenji and I adopted my parents, Alice and Malcolm (not their real names), when I was 2 1/2 years old. I'm kind of a big deal!

Like most other dogs, I love going for walks. And I'm very lucky that my mum and dad take me for walks twice a day: for about 45 minutes in the morning, and at least another 30 minutes in the afternoon. If they're both off to work, my parents pop my numerous beds in strategic sunny positions around the house. Us Basenjis are African hunting dogs that adore the sun and being warm.

When lock-down first happened, I was very confused why I wasn't going to my usual playgroup on Saturday mornings, and I was also very frustrated that I couldn't see my doggo park friends at Yarralumla. On the other hand, I've been real lucky to mainly have Dad (sometimes Mum) home quite regularly due to changes in their work rosters during this time.

I'm quirky and clever, but being a Basenji, I've also been wired to be a little too smart and stubborn sometimes. But my mum and dad don't care about any of that-they adore me and love me to bits! Wouldn't you too?

Sprockett & Shadow
Hello! I am Sprockett (almost 6) and this is my sister, Shadow (almost 5). We are black Labradoodles, and our mum is Jenny, a North Queenslander who has called Canberra home for the last eleven years.

We are two bundles of energy! We love eating, and getting lots of pats and rubs, and eating again, and going for walks, and having adventures, and eating some more, and being with our mum and her other two children (the fur-less ones), and going for drives to the coast, and getting lots of cuddles from our mum, and did we tell you that we love eating?!

During lockdown, there's been a lot more people at usual in our house, so we've been in dog heaven! We love having our mum work from home, and we've had lots of beds to choose from for our naps and lots of humans to pester for playtime and walks. We've also enjoyed looking out the window and checking out the other neighbourhood dogs going for walks with their mums and dads, and all the cars going up and down the street as well as watching the cats and birds. Our mum reckons we've been barking a lot more than usual, but we're just so excited seeing other dogs as well as anything that's bright and shiny.

We know our mum loves having us for company as she works from home. Now, we may not make the best work colleagues as we really don't do any share of the work(!), but we give her and everyone else in the family lots of love, comfort and joy. And in this time of lockdown, those things are more important than ever.

Daisy
Hi! My name is Daisy Elisabeth. I'm a 12 year old Groodle, and my mummy is Sally.

My mummy absolutely adores me and treats me like a princess-which I firmly believe that I am!

Mummy spoils me with luxurious baths and cafe dates and special doggy treats and organic chicken specially poached for my dinners (I only eat the best, after all!) and I also get to wear lots of pretty outfits. I even have special outfits for special holidays during the year such as Halloween, Christmas and Easter.

I've really loved having mum work from home during lockdown, and she's loved it too. She thinks it's absolute bliss working from home with me sitting beside her. I make her feel super relaxed and content. And she's had lots more time to take me out for walks too.
Mummy and I are very close and we share a very special bond. That's why my second name, Elisabeth, is also her middle name. We're soulmates forever.

Lester
Hello! My name is Lester (black and white cat) and I'm three years old. Next to me is Lou Lou who is just a kitten really. We're both rescue cats, saved from NSW Pounds by Mini Kitty Commune and our servant, Sarah (only dogs have 'mums' and 'dads'!). Sarah brought us here to Canberra to live with her, and we have now made her house (and her life) our own.

We're cats, so we spend a lot of our days eating and sleeping and eating again and sleeping again and then eating some more and sleeping some more! And because we're cats, we do exactly what we want. We must have breakfast no later than 6.30am (or I'll pull off our servant's blankets and make her get up); we want food throughout the day whenever we want it; we insist on sleeping with Sarah in her bedroom at night because her room is the cosiest; if Sarah doesn't understand what I'm trying to tell her, then I'll bite her on the bum or arm until she finally gets it (humans can be so dimwitted sometimes!); and I'll happily kick tradies out of the house by banging on the door whenever they stay back for a chat-I hate tradies!

Lou Lou and I have loved having our servant work from home during lockdown. It's wonderful having her meet all our needs. That's what humans are for, right?

Lou Lou
Hello, I'm Lou Lou. I don't really know what this thing called Coronavirus is that all the humans are talking about right now. But I do know that I love having photoshoots!

Some very important things you need to consider when you want to have us in your lives.

We are the lucky ones. We have humans who love us and look after us and keep us healthy, happy and safe. But not all dogs or cats are as lucky as we are. We don't understand how some humans do bad things to their fur-children, we don't understand how some humans out there hurt them, neglect them, abuse them, or abandon them and throw them easily away like they're pieces of rubbish.

Owning a dog or cat like us (or any other animal for that matter) is, as Harry's mum Victoria, says, "a long term decision. There are a lot of expenses that come with owning a pet. You need to be realistic about the cost. We do more to keep our pets living longer, higher-quality lives than I think we used to, and that comes with a cost." Sprockett and Shadow's mum, Jenny, adds that it's vital that humans educate themselves about the costs: "It's not just the initial purchase price. You have to consider annual inoculations against parvovirus and heartworms, puppy training and then there are grooming costs if you cannot do it yourself."

Of course, it's not just the costs of having one or two (or three or more!) of us in your household that is important. Jenny says that humans need to "make sure you have the time and energy to invest in adding a pet to your family." And as Lester and Lou Lou's servant, Sarah, says, "Do your research and get one that will fit into your lifestyle. There's no point in adopting a dog or cat if you're hardly ever home and can't handle being followed around the house and having no privacy in the bathroom!"

Sharing your life with us is a VERY big deal. Just like you, we also grow old, and we need your love and care and support not just when we're young, but throughout our entire lives right to the very end of our days when we need you to be with us the most.

During this uncertain, challenging time that we live in, we are there for you, humans of Canberra. So please, be there for us too.

With paws and claws,
Harry, Rafey, Sprockett, Shadow, Daisy, Lester and Lou Lou.