Editorial: January 22, 2021

Presidents

As the editorial is being written, the United States greets a new president as it watches the transfer of power in the most democratic country in the world. It makes no difference what side of the political agenda you support, we should all support our nation. Just like we in the world of purebred dogs should support one another. It’s time we all collectively step back from posting the vitriol that has been written in the past. Let’s just all be supportive of one another and put the division behind us.

Precedence 

One of the unexpected results of the Covid-19 lockdown was the purchase of dogs and cats and smaller household pets. Reports of breeders of purebred dogs who were inundated with requests for puppies multiplied exponentially. Prices for puppies were at an all-time high as demand increased. Of course, shelter dogs also saw an increase in adoptions. It is estimated that the global pet-care business grew 7% in 2020. All the major pet-food companies saw double-digit growth in their pet-food sales. Mars estimated that there are 85 million households that owned pets in the United States at the beginning of 2020. While not confirmed until later this year, they estimate that 11 million pets were added by year’s end. 

Predictions

Impressive numbers, but like all good news, a little dose of reality. Now that the vaccine is becoming available and life will be returning to some normalcy, this huge increase in numbers will start to fall. Some fear that the new crop of pet owners will find juggling pet ownership and not working from home problematic. This might cause an increase in pets becoming placed in shelters. While many dog shows are still canceled, others are waiting until the last minute to make that decision, which will be based on state and local restrictions. Other clubs are moving ahead with their events in states that have fewer restrictions. Another sign of improvement, more judges who at first feared catching the virus are now more confident with health procedures put in place by the show-giving club and are now accepting assignments. All and all, step by step, our dog-show world is returning to normal. Until that time, stay safe.