Feeling lonely during lockdown and after a friend that offers unconditional love?

 Local RSPCA is still offering remote adoption for both dogs and cats during the pandemic, local RSPCA Shelter Supervisor, T’Mielle White said.

 But if you are a dog or cat lover, don’t forget your pet’s welfare during the lockdown, they need to keep their spirits up as well.

 “We ‘re still doing adoptions for people from home,” T’Mielle explained. “Basically, they fill-in an application online and then we determine what’s the best fit.

 “They then come-around and pick their new pet up, but people aren’t allowed to browse the shelter like they normally do,” she emphasised.

 She said that the lockdown has seen some changes to the mix of pet adoption numbers with some breeds quite lucky, others not so.

 “Yes, we have had some drop-off… for some particular animals. There’s a few dogs we’ve had for a little while and that we can’t get adopters for,” she said, listing a handful of larger canines that have become long-term residents of the Colour City’s William Street shelter.

 “Cats though are flying out the door, we are getting a lot of people looking to adopt,” she added.

  T’Mielle said that, during these anxious times, look also to the welfare of your pets to keep them stimulated and amused.

 “For ways to keep them entertained, look at things like feeding enrichment, freezing their dinner and wrapping it in a towel or putting it in a cardboard box that they then have to get to.

 “Lots of people are also using cardboard boxes for cat houses and the like, to keep their pets active and stimulated,” T’Mielle added.

 “In fact, cardboard boxes and the like can be used for a whole range of fun games for pets to explore.”

 Looking for the silver lining in our current black clouds, she said that staying home has allowed us all to spend more time with our feline and canine companions.

 “Now that everyone is home, one thing is that this has allowed us to spend more time with our animal companions, which is a good thing,” T’Mielle said.