AMMAN — While animal shelters across the world witnessed a rise in adoption rates throughout the
pandemic – with adopters citing boredom, a desire for companionship, and excess free time as primary driving factors – shelters in
Jordan tell a different story.
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“During
COVID-19, adoption increased; students were off, jobs were halted, and people started to think of things to spend time on,” said member of Al Rahmeh Association for Animals in Jordan, Mohammad Shishany, in an interview with Jordan News. “Many people decided that they want a dog in their lives.”
Yet, Shishany explained that less than half of people who adopt dogs are truly committed to caring for them, and the rest end up returning them.
Many families’ interest in adopting a pet was limited to a time period, he explained, as they see a dog as something to play with for a few hours a day while working or studying from home.
“Even though the demand increased, these are not always the real people you are looking for to adopt a rescue and commit to them for life,” he said.
Caring for a pet requires a significant amount of time and resources. “Some people think that the pet is not going to cost a lot, but they have expenses, they need to be fed and they might get sick,” said Dina Nimry-Salti, co-founder of Tabanni, a hub for animal welfare and adoption, in an interview with Jordan News. “Not to mention the time it takes to take care of them.”
While Nimry observed a slight increase in pet adoptions over the past year, it was another trend that actually caught her attention. “What I noticed is that during COVID-19 people are letting go of their animals. We had to put many animals up for adoption because people didn’t want them anymore.”
She cited the economic toll the pandemic exerted on households and the spread of misinformation on pets infecting humans with COVID-19 as major reasons for this. “They were either afraid of getting COVID-19 from pets and didn’t understand that they can’t, or they were not financially able to keep them,” she said.
On the other hand, for those who do have pets, COVID-19 lockdowns gave owners the opportunity to take them on more walks, engage in more activities, and reconnect with them, said the animal rights advocate.
Dog-owner Hala Hawatmeh adopted her pet during the pandemic. Because they were at home, the family was able to finally move forward with this long-awaited decision. After an extensive vetting process at the Humane Center for Animal Welfare, they were able to take their new dog home.
The family did not take the decision to adopt a pet lightly. “Adopting a dog means that you are taking this animal’s life into your hands,” Hawatmeh said in a phone interview with Jordan News. “The first month when we got our dog, we had to take him to the vet and found out he was in critical condition and needed a procedure.” She recalled the time and emotional commitment this required.
While they are currently spending time at home, Hawatmeh explained that they are already putting plans in place for when life goes back to normal. She believes that having support from the whole family is essential.
“A lot of my friends who have seen how happy we are with this dog started considering adopting one too,” she said. “Now that I’ve seen what it takes, I urge them to really evaluate their lifestyle and think of it long-term.”
Many potential owners adopt pets on a whim, failing to consider what their lives will look like when the country starts opening back up, which sparks these commitment issues.
“We need to make sure that when the novelty wears off and people go back to school, someone will still be around,” said Nimry. “That is an oversight for many people, and we want to raise awareness about this.”
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