Amidst the chaos in the outside world, people around the country are stuck inside their homes either alone, with their family or in the company of their furry friend(s).

This story will dive into people’s lives and find out what they enjoy about being home with their pets. 

For me at least, I love being able to cuddle with my dog and cats and they really love it too. Even sitting on the couch doing homework or watchi

ng a movie, it’s like being out but with complimentary blankets and pet cuddles.

My dog especially loves the extra walks she is getting but is absolutely exhausted by the end of the day, from at least the three walks she has taken. I no longer wonder what she does while we are gone, because I know now she just lays around and sleeps in various places. 

For sophomore Christina Bertenshaw, she loves being home with her dog Aldine. 

“Aldine’s the real winner of this quarantine cause now she gets like 10x more attention,” Bertenshaw said.

When she would’ve been at school, her time is now spent distance learning like most students but with an added bonus of her pup.

“The silver lining with being stuck at home is not only being able to spend time with my family but with my dog too. When school was in session, I would leave home really early and get back and immediately go to sleep so I didn’t get to see her too much. Now that I’m home way more I get to hang out with her so much more,” Bertenshaw said.

Another student Skylar Johnnie, an 8th grader, is surrounded by animals and she loves it. She owns a dog, two cats, two rats, and a fish. 

“They are the ones keeping me sane,” Johnnie said. 

As for the animals, they feel the same way. (My dog sure didn’t at first, I think we were taking too much of her sleeping time. She kept walking in the middle of the games we played.)

“They love when I spend time with them, they get excited every time I walk towards them,” Johnnie said.

For Maddie Ashlock, she also loves being home with her animals, because who wouldn’t? She has two dogs that are very different. 

“I love being home with them,” Ashlock said. “Koda, which is my husky, is super active and crazy while my other smaller dog, Max, is super chill and laid back. They both are super fun to walk and play with, in my backyard.”

Another student, freshman Emily Hammock, has a dog that my dog would be able to heavily relate to. Although unlike mine, she absolutely has tons of energy to run off of.

“With the quarantine that has happened, she sleeps a lot during the day but is still her crazy little self. Nola loves to run around and sometimes she may be a little too crazy” Hammock said. 

Her family is trying to maintain their daily routine and carries that out with their dog too.

“She is taking the changes well and she hasn’t really changed much, and we do still take her on small walks sometimes,” Hammock said. “We just live our normal lives and go about our daily lives.” 

Animals make you smile and laugh and keep you occupied. Especially in this pandemic, you know there is always someone there to love you.