b'Keeping Families Together:Dont Be Afraid ToAsk For HelpBy Anna Cooke68% of Gen Zers and 42% of millennials plan tohire a dogwalker, take their pet to daycare or doa combination of both once they return to theworkplace, which will hopefully relieve someworry for owners about leaving pets at home. Reports of owner-surrenders, since people have begunreturning to work after a year working from home, begancirculating earlier this year. While owner-surrenders are,unfortunately, a fact of shelter and rescue work, the num-bers are not unprecedented, as many of the news reportssensationalized. Shelter data and interviews with animalwelfare experts point to a confirmed shift in pet owner-ship in the United States, as people bonded with theirnewly adopted pets during the pandemic.Here in the trenches, we know that its not true. Weknow that more people are asking for help than before,and they want to keep their pets. Theyre coming to ussaying, I love my cat. I love my dog. I dont want to givethem up, said Lindsay Layendecker, assistant develop-ment director at the Jacksonville Humane Society. In a recent survey conducted for Rover.com of 1,000How hard can it be to raise a puppy, especially when American cat and dog owners, 93 percent said their pan-youre working from home? Little Harley, a Poo-chon, demic pet had improved their mental or physical well-was just four months old when, in tears, his ownerbeing over the last year. More than 80 percent said itcalled Denise Ariale of Fetch Pet Care for help. made working from home more enjoyable.MonthlyreportsfromPetPoint,awebsitethataggregatesdatafrommorethan1,100animalwelfareorganizationsintheUnitedStates,suggestthatwhileshelters have experienced an increase in pets coming in,their numbers are merely returning to the levels reportedbefore the pandemic. In fact, people who adopted petsduringthepandemicarentreturningtheminhighernumbers than usual, but instead are looking for servicessuch as daycare, boarding, pet sitting and pet walking toassist them with taking care of their pets. Theyre alsocommunicating with shelters for resources to financiallybridge the gap, like pet food pantries.Callsfromdogsownershavebeencomingintodaycare and boarding facilities such as Fuzzie Buddies inTampa,PasadenaPetMotelinSt.Petersburg,andPaws Inn Paradise in Pinellas Park. 58THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'