If you believe in a God or like me you believe that nature is God then God favours cats and dogs during this coronavirus pandemic. It is as if nature is teaching the human race a lesson. The lesson is that humans should not abuse the animal kingdom to serve their interests.
It occurred to me (as I am sure it has to others) that companion cats and dogs have a better life at the moment during the coronavirus crisis. This is based on the current knowledge that cats and dogs cannot catch the virus. In the majority of countries, there is ‘social distancing’ – keeping 2 metres apart and remaining at home etc.. An extension of this is governments demanding that their citizens who are over the age of 70 should remain at home for the foreseeable future. Also people in the workforce who can work at home are being asked to do so.
The outcome is that millions of people are now at home when they would otherwise be at their workplace. And this is where cats and dogs benefit hugely. They are with their companion humans, all day every day. They’ve never had it so good.
My local gym closedown last Friday. I go to the gym every day. As I can no longer do so, I do Pilates in my living room. My cat loves it. I am down to his level, on my back or my stomach and he feels that I’m joining him. I’m making a connection with him and he wants to participate. This morning he rested on my chest while I was doing Pilates. I’ll try and photograph or video it tomorrow morning because I found it very charming. I actually carried on and he didn’t mind.
He is clearly excited with my extra presence because even though I am retired I don’t go out to the gym every day anymore. In The Times newspaper a guy living in Dulwich, London, Jon Ungoed-Tomas, says that one population is enjoying a boon, our beloved dogs. He says that his Canadian retriever, Beau, is bemused but delighted at his additional presence in the house and the sudden huge increase in daily walks. His dog is in clover thanks to the God that is nature striking back at the careless human who is now being taught a lesson in how to decently and humanely relate to wild and domestic animals.
In earlier posts I had hinted that this was a form of Karma meted out by a force far greater and stronger than us, namely, nature. It is suggested that when the pandemic is over society will be changed. There is a battle between America and China about how it started. China is disseminating misinformation, is alleged, to divert attention away from Beijing and the Chinese government for their sloppy approach to animal welfare which it is believed has caused the pandemic.
There is an argument that America should decouple from China and that after the crisis, whatever happens, the relationship between China and America cannot go back to normal. Whatever happens with respect to people, I think that life will be better for companion cats and dogs both during and after the pandemic. As usual, there are winners and losers and thankfully, on this occasion, animals are the beneficiaries of careless human behaviour. It is ironic, that cruelty to wild animals at the wild animal markets of China has resulted in a better life for domestic animals in the West.
P.S. Rescue animals at shelters are at a disadvantage as some shelters are finding it difficult to maintain operations as normal. They appear to be find ways to function through more foster care and meeting customers in the parking lot.
Note: As I understand it, it is currently thought that Covid-19 started in Wuhan, in Hubei province in a live animal market. It is believed that the virus comes from bats in these markets in China or that infected bats have infected other animals at the markets.
