by Wyatt Waskowiak, reporter
OMAHA – Owner of Who’s Walking Who, a dog trainer and behavior consultant and her therapy dogs are feeling the impact of COVID-19, where they used to visit hospitals, nursing homes, and even the airport, are now just at home waiting for the next time they can go visit their friends.
“We have like about 120 therapy teams in Omaha and it’s like all these dogs are just. It’s pathetic to see them. I mean, I mean, it is really sad because they are just so deprived of what they live for is to make people happy and to laugh,” said Lou Meyers.
Meyers also works with a lot of the local shelters around Omaha, and said that shelters are struggling with the pandemic because people are struggling with money therefore there are less donations. Even though the shelters are having difficulties with funding, it’s not all bad news.
Meyers said, “One interesting thing was, of course, during the kind of the shutdown people were home working from home, and it has been, there’s been a huge increase in adoptions of, particularly the younger dogs but some of the older dogs too.”
There has also been an increase in people having to give up their pets because they can no longer afford their basic needs. This fills up the kennels and limits the amount of pets they can take in. Meyers said there are other ways shelters try to help out.
“If they just need food or leashes or crates, we can provide crates so that they can stay in an apartment. We try to do that because once they come into the shelter or rescue system, I mean that fills our spaces,” Meyers said.
Local dog owner Mikayla Mace said her rescue dog has done more for her then she could ever give back but that won’t stop her from trying.
Mace said: “She gets me out of the house. I have depression and all that, so getting out of the house is important for me health wise. And whenever I’m sad she comes up and comforts me.”There are still a multitude of dogs, cats and many other types of animals that are looking for a new family at local shelters. As the pandemic continues, and the stress that comes with it, all the pets are feeling it too.
