A pet provides support and company in the corona crisis. But a bizarre trend has developed. A shelter manager now speaks plain text.
- A bizarre trend developed during the corona pandemic
- More and more people want in times of coronavirus * a pet on time
- A shelter manager speaks plain text
Frankfurt - ban on contact , keeping distance and little prospect of loosening in times of the corona crisis . Sitting at home is often particularly difficult to bear, especially for single people. But families with children often hardly know how to keep the little ones busy. How good that there are pets , many think, because a bizarre trend has developed in Hessen.
Corona virus: a pet for the contact ban - the phone does not stand still in the shelter
Shortly after the Corona contact ban * was also introduced in Hesse, the telephone of the animal protection association in Frankfurt am Main and the surrounding area of 1841 eV suddenly stopped. And the staff at the shelter were amazed when the first request reached them. Whether it is possible to rent pets . Temporary - because of the corona crisis .
The pet would then be returned when the corona measures were relaxed again. And it was far from the case of individual inquiries, explains Sabine Urbainsky from the Frankfurt animal shelter: "It was really a lot, it was actually so bad at the beginning that the phone rang almost only because of this", explains animal shelter manager Sabine Urbainsky. The most popular loan pet was the dog , and cats were only asked occasionally.
Corona crisis: Temporary pets - And if the corona measures are relaxed, gladly give them back
With sentences like "I would have a lot of time for a dog in the home office right now," and "with me the pet is better off than in the kennel", people of all stripes justified their request. Even a father called, says the shelter manager. Because his son is in front of his computer all the time, a dog would be great. Then the son would finally go out again. But if the school after loosening the corona measures losgehe again, the family would want to return the dog again, because for a pet missing time.
Of course, the inquirers meant it well in times of Corona , Sabine Urbainsky knows, but of course no temporary pet is placed. "The pet doesn't understand the whole thing. It thinks it has a new home and then suddenly ends up in the shelter again. There are pets that break down mentally, ”explains the shelter manager. Pets that suddenly lose their homes often develop lethargic behavior and refuse to eat. The animal shelter staff then have their hands full to pep up the animal again.
Pets in Corona Times: Another worrying trend on social networks
A shocking rumor about cats, dogs and coronavirus * is also being discussed on social networks. Owners are said to want to give away or even put their pets to sleep, for fear of the corona virus. The head of the shelter for Hesse can rule out the former: "We have neither more found animals nor more animals handed in. In contrast to Easter days in previous years, fewer animals were sold because hardly anyone goes on vacation."
She also finds it hardly possible to put pets to sleep for fear of Corona . Because without a fixed reason, no veterinarian should take such a measure. With that he makes himself punishable. No such case is known at the State Chamber of Veterinary Hesse.
Furthermore, according to the current state of research, pet owners should not be afraid that the pet could become infected with the coronavirus * and then transmit it to humans. Achim Gruber, head of the Institute of Animal Pathology at the Free University of Berlin, made it clear that pets had only been infected with the corona virus in isolated cases. And so far there have been no indications that pets can also infect humans, the expert emphasizes.
By Sophia Lother
* fnp.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.