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A dog’s life in lockdown

Eyleen Gomez

Gibraltar is not a week into the Covid-19 lockdown and, despite loving the fact their family is now home all day, dogs are missing their usual walks and routine.

While spending their days now on the couch with family to cuddle up to, dogs are missing catching up with their latest news. A smell of a bush, a sniff of a ‘friend’s’ backside, even the direction of the wind gives dogs their important information, such as what dog has eaten what.

However, with walkies becoming shorter and no chance of interaction with fellow dogs, we asked dog owners what is happening in their canine’s world recently.

“The past few days have seen many dog owners also keep their distance – even dog distance,” one dog owner told the Chronicle.

“Most will walk at more or less the same time but the normal chatter of their owners has been kept down to a minimum over the past week and especially now that we have reached lockdown.”

They also noted that it has been noticeable, especially in the town area, that in the evenings dog walking is earlier than normal.

It is common knowledge that dogs sense and feel danger, fear, happiness, all the emotions, and anxiety is no different.

“Some owners, even before lockdown, expressed concern about their dogs who were, in some cases, seem to be becoming more and more anxious,” another owner said.

“Walks have been shorter just around the block and back home.”

“Long walks are now on hold.”

Not all dog owners on the Rock are young, with some over the age of 70, and therefore in the bracket of people who must not leave their home unless completely necessary.

With this in mind, some of these dog owners are having to take their furry creatures out to do their business really early or very late to avoid meeting anyone.

Some owners have had to have their beloved pet move in with family, thereby increasing the loneliness experienced by that elder family member.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our reporters are working round-the-clock to bring you the latest news on Gibraltar and the Covid-19 crisis. All our coverage on this critical issue is available free outside the paywall. If you find it useful, please help us reach more people by sharing our journalism. And if you want to support our work further, please consider subscribing to the digital version of our daily newspaper and all our premium online content. You can subscribe via our website or for iOS devices via the iTunes store. Thank you.

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