By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
As the kids go back to school, don’t forget the pets.
Melaine Barnes with Friends of the Animal Shelter reminds residents that back-to-school can be a big adjustment for everyone, including the pets.
“Pets get used to routines and what their comfort level is with those routines,” Barnes tells KFEQmmunity. “And that includes the routines of their people, and their owners, and their loved ones.”
Barnes says a shift from an unstructured summer to the structure of school can be jarring to a pet.
“So, if you’ve had two, three months of no routine or routine of you being home all the time or maybe kids being home all the time then all of the sudden going back to school,” Barnes says, adding, “obviously the dogs and cats don’t understand what’s going on and so then all of the sudden one day, it’s different. Why is it different?”
Barnes suggests pet owners take intentional steps to help with the transition.
“So, just give them a little bit of time to adjust,” Barnes says. “It’s a big change for them. So, make sure that you’re monitoring them in a way that they’re getting satisfied still. That could be going for a walk after school or taking them outside to the yard to play fetch.”
Barnes says every family is different, every household routine is different, and every pet is different.
“Not all pets are affectionate. Some are very satisfied being just on their own, hanging out. But if you have an affectionate pet and now you’ve gone from being home all day to going to work for eight or nine or ten hours a day, they’re going to miss you. You are their world,” Barnes says. “So, when you come home, you need to make sure they’re getting a little bit of extra love and attention to help adapt to your absence.”
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ