Creature comforts: Long Islanders share stories, photos of pets during the pandemic 

Brenda Krug’s husband died a few years ago, and her two daughters are in Boston and Los Angeles. With the pandemic, she’s cut off from friends in her Woodbury community. So at 80, she finds herself very much alone with Katey, her toy apricot poodle.

Since Krug’s not running errands or socializing with friends, she has tripled the time she spends with Katey, whom she calls “the least affectionate and most independent dog I’ve owned. She never cuddled.”

Everything’s changed. “She’s more affectionate. We watch TV together. We’re bonded at the hip. Now she sleeps next to me. It would be terribly lonely to not have her during all this.”

Theirs is the kind of lovefest happening all over Long Island. While pets are usually dependent on their owners, now it’s hard to know who needs whom the most. As the pandemic has people reeling, pets bring peace, comfort, companionship and much-needed comedic relief. Never have there been so many belly rubs, walks and treats from owners who have a deeper appreciation of their furry friends.

The positive power of pets is undeniable. “Animals lower heart rate and blood pressure and have a beneficial effect on your vital signs. They respond to us intuitively when we’re upset and will comfort us,” says Lia Baldasano, a clinical social worker-therapist in East Northport.

She says they also help mitigate fear, allowing us to operate from a more rational and grounded place, particularly in times of high stress. And on any given day, “they validate our existence, our feelings and emotions without judgment, giving our lives more meaning and purpose.”

And their needs fill an empty space. “Pets give us something to do when we suddenly have time on our hands.”

Pets are top-of-mind not just for the families they fill with joy, but strangers who have compassionately rushed to shelters and adopted them during the pandemic. More than 100 dogs have already been placed in temporary and permanent homes on Long Island, Newsday reported in April.

“We’ve had a phenomenal response from the public. We’ve adopted out a lot of not just puppies and kittens but older animals who have been in our care,” says Ilene Schreibman, communications manager for North Shore Animal League America in Port Washington.

Allison Monaco, owner of Jake’s Rescue Ranch in Syosset, has been doing adoptions nearly daily since the coronavirus crisis. Similarly, within the first two weeks of self-isolation and social distancing, more than half of the dogs at the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation were placed in foster homes. “We had 12 puppies adopted in just two days!” says Katie McEntee, director of adoption and public relations.

No doubt it’s a win-win relationship, whether new or rich in history. Families across Long Island share their stories.

She thinks she’s human

Jeff Shein says Rio, the family’s Shih Tzu-poodle mix, seemed confused at first because he, wife Teresa and adult son, Alex, were around so much with everyone working from their Syosset home. “Now I believe she thinks that she’s a full-fledged human member of the family,” says Jeff.

Back when Jeff would arrive home from work, Rio would greet him at the garage with one of her toys, then play “keep away.” He would chase her around to try to get the toy. “She’s forgotten that game now that I’m here most of the time. In another strange twist, she won’t eat until we all sit down.”

She won’t go to sleep until he does. “Rio cries at the top of the stairs for me to come back up if I go downstairs late at night for a drink.”

Rio hunkers down under his desk curled at his feet while he works on his laptop, something she never did. Shein says Rio senses something. “I could swear she’s looking at me with my mask when I go out and thinking, ‘what the heck is going on with this guy and what did he do wrong so that he has to wear a muzzle?’ There’s a weird look on her face.”

Lastly, says Shein, “She’s just a ball of comfort. She’s old and has a heart condition. It’s a blessing in disguise to spend this time with her.”

Hoppier than ever

Three-year-old Bella has never seen so much of the Jacobs. With all six members of the Dix Hills family working or in school, the Holland Lop rabbit pre-pandemic mostly had to wait for loving at night and weekends. Now she’s hanging out in bedrooms and elsewhere all day. Only matriarch Sally, a physician with her own practice, is leaving the home, so Bella gets plenty of attention, everyone gets their rubs in during breaks from work or studying.

“Bella seems happier and more affectionate. Her cuteness and sweet personality are a welcome distraction. Petting her and observing her different behaviors is therapy, it's calming,” says daughter Rebecca, 23

And Gus makes three

Tim Malone’s heartstrings were pulled by reports of dogs having to remain in shelters during the pandemic and people giving their dogs to shelters. He and fiance, Don Lemon, a CNN host, already had Boomer and Barkley, but they found a gem at the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation named Gus.

Malone, a real estate salesman, is sheltering in Sag Harbor, filling his days with the trio, walking them and hanging out on the beach.

Pre-pandemic, Lemon spent the day with them while Malone worked.; Malone did the night shift. “Now I spend all day with them, and we bug Don while he is sleeping and prepping for the night’s show.”

Malone is grateful for the canine company. “They have kept me busy, focused and calm. Every morning I wake up and feed them at 6:15, it gets my day started.”

Wed to puppy instead

Shane Malone and his fiancee, Kristin Glocksien, postponed their May wedding, but Eli is keeping their spirits up. Like so many, they responded to the calls from shelters to adopt.

Three weeks ago, they brought him home from Ruff House Rescue Ranch in Island Park. The 5-month-old collie and shepherd mix is engaging them every waking moment as they work from their Long Beach home.

“He’s spoiled,” says Malone. “He won’t leave our side. When one of us gets up off the couch, he has to follow us to see what we’re up to,” Malone says.

Walks and playing fetch or just lounging on the porch with Eli are a nice reprieve from sitting in the house. And Eli keeps them on a schedule. “No sleeping in. … He wakes up at 6 a.m.”

But he’s worth it. “He’s got the biggest, perkiest ears that he may never grow into. Every time we go into the kitchen, he thinks he’s getting a treat and sits patiently behind us waiting for one.”

Purr-fectly trained kittens

At the Buckley house it’s all about the cats. There are three pets, Luna, Minnie and Judy, and the 1-month-old fosters through the Long Beach Humane Society that they’ve named Rusty, Owl, Rainy and Fawn.

Julie and her husband, George, are working from home, their adult son is home from college and daughter Claire, 10, is out of school.

The felines provide fun for the Rockville Centre family. “We really appreciate our cats and the joy they give us. The older cats are happy to be fed and cuddled on demand. Claire has been reinforcing all she has trained Luna to do. Claire taught Luna to high-five and fist bump. She is surely performing more now that she has a ready audience.”

Happy to stay home

Susan Gerson and husband, Colin, are working from their Roslyn home. They and their two boys have been walking their English bulldogs, Julian and Zoe, so much they run under the dining room table when they see either someone taking leashes out.

“They’re pretty lazy. But we get lots of snuggles and love from them all day. We keep saying how lucky we are to have them during this crazy time,” says Susan.

The dogs are wagging-tail happy. Zoe now sleeps with 14-year-old Zach. Zoe is by Susan’s side as she runs her public relations business from her bedroom. Julian has "his" couch in the living room where he likes to sit near the kids doing their schoolwork.

Such quality time with their pets is unusual: Until recently, the busy Gersons had a dog walker on the weekends.

Susan says the dogs love them being around all day, more walks not so much. “Every day you’ll find one of us dragging them down the block (especially Julian who likes to go half a block and turn around and go home). It was usually a fight for someone to take them out. Now we all want to do it to get out of the house!”

More squirrel-chasing

Jampa, a Tibetan terrier, the breed that once was the companion of monks in Tibet, is a fitting pet for two clergy, says the Rev. Linda Anderson, who like her wife, Margie Allen, is a Unitarian Universalist minister. Jampa likes the new routine. Get up at 7, go outside and come back in, immediately have a treat, go back to bed. Get up later, go for a walk and have breakfast. Sleep a bit. Go outdoors and sit in the sun, and chill. At 10:30 p.m., he barks Anderson and Allen up to bed.

“He senses something. He’s clingier, not wanting to be far from us,” says Anderson, who like Margie is working from their Stony Brook home; adult son Matthew is furloughed from his job.

There’s time for long, frequent walks. However, Jampa let them know enough was enough. “We were too enthusiastic. We finally got the message that we were wearing him out when he refused to walk with us. He would hide when he saw the leash. If we managed, to get him out on it, he just stood there and wouldn’t move,” says Anderson.

Jampa enjoys more time in the backyard chasing squirrels and rolling in pine needles. “His presence, the warmth of his body, his needs that draw us out of ourselves have helped to add some normalcy to this time.”

Walks every couple of hours

Chance and Willow are feeling no pain from the pandemic. Before the lockdown, Andria Jacob walked the dogs in the morning, and the kids walked them after school. Snuggle and playtime was after 7 p.m. These days, they take short walks every couple hours and, weather permitting, run in the backyard, play fetch and tug of war. The Jacobs live in Massapequa, but Andria is teaching remotely and sheltering upstate in their Barton home along with children, A.J., 15, Candy, 11, and husband Keith, who is retired.

The family is making the most of a difficult time. Chance and Willow help. Says Andria, “We only adopted Willow a few weeks ago; she is so funny and smart. She has learned how to sit, give paw, high five and come on command. She cracks us up when she chases her tail and play fights so gently with Chance, who is a lot smaller than her.

“The funniest was when she dropped a pillow off the couch that was almost her size and kept trying to run and jump to put it back! It would fall out of her mouth mid-jump. We laughed for half an hour.”

Grounded by their dogs

Lavanya Sunkara may no longer be traveling for work, but there’s an upside: More time with husband, Scott Josephson, who is also working from their Merrick home, and dogs Indu and Andy.

“It’s been such a gift to spend all my time with my fur babies. I was on the road at least two weeks each month, and we boarded them if we were away together or had business trips simultaneously. They snooze a lot, but it’s nice to have their calming presence,” says Sunkara.

Every hour or so, one of them nudge her to play or walk. “We get exercise and I get a much-needed break from staring at the screen.”

Sunkara does 15-second “Moments of Zen” stories on Instagram featuring the dogs’ adorable antics. “It’s something I look forward to doing daily and my friends like it as well.”

She adds, “Dogs remind us to live in the moment. When I am having a rough day, seeing them take pleasure in the simple things on a walk gives me perspective. I pause in the moment, looking at a pretty flower or catching the waning light of the sunset.”