COVID-19 and Separation Anxiety: A Dog Owners’ Story

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By Ashley Joanisse

Many people have recently been spending a lot of time in isolation and quarantine, working from home, or facing unemployment due to the outbreak of COVID-19. For many pets, this unfortunate circumstance has been an opportunity for them to spend more time with their owners.
For my dog Molly, what started out as a blessing, later led to a case of severe separation anxiety. I adopted Molly from a rescue operation when she was 6 months old when she first joined our family, she had severe separation anxiety and would howl and bark anytime she was left alone. We were informed by our landlord, who lives in the same building, that if we left for an hour or two, she would cry the entire time.

So, we started doing research on how to assist her to ensure she was more comfortable when we went to work. We left the music on, ensured she had her favorite toys, came home every day at lunch, and started to kennel her during the day so she would have a safe space.

After a few months of really working with her and developing a consistent routine, our landlord told us she was no longer barking when we left, she became comfortable in the home. Then the outbreak of COVID-19 started in Canada.

After I attended a work conference, it was made public that there was a positive case confirmed from the event I attended. After beginning to experience a severe cough, I decided that the responsible thing to do was to get tested and self isolate. The testing process had just started in Canada, so the results were expected to take 7-10 days. I was at home with my puppy for 10 days waiting for the results. When I finally got the results back, they were negative, but by then the closures started and I was asked to work from home. After over a month of being at home with my dog, going for runs during the day, spending time with her while working and always being home, my dog’s routine had shifted, she was no longer comfortable being alone. Then the day came when I was asked to return to work.

On my first day returning to work, I could hear her howling and barking as I was walking to my car and I was later informed that she had cried most the day by my neighbors. They were outside and could hear her howling from their home. She had the same safe space we created for her, the same toys and music that worked in the past, but it was as though we were starting the process all over again, she was no longer comfortable being alone. We have continued to do the same practices that had worked in the past, trying to recreate her routine. She has started to slowly get more comfortable alone during the day but if she is left alone at any point at night, she cries the entire time. She also prefers to be in the same room we are in at all times and does not spend a lot of time alone outside, as she used to love to do before the pandemic.

The pandemic has been hard on everyone, there has been a lot of loss and the pets are suffering too. At this point in time, my dog does seem to be doing better and I am grateful for that and I am also grateful for her health, and my friends and families health, but I must admit this time has been very difficult. I think the important thing to remember, is that we are all in this together, and we must be there for one another during this uncertain challenging time and that means caring for our pets and ensuring their needs are met too because they are also experiencing hard times during this pandemic.

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