When Quarantine first occurred in March 2020, many families added new furry friends to their homes. Many Saint Joe students such as Emma Tincher, Lizzy Raster, and Josie Lloyd in the senior class adopted puppies to their homes in quarantine.

Why puppies? Why have so many families adopted new puppies during this pandemic, and the answer is pretty easy… Most families were spending time together 24/7, bored and in need of a change or something new to “spice” up the horrific and lonely times during quarantine. Adopting a puppy made families avoid the constant isolation in their homes and allowed for them to take a break from all the “breaking news” and continuous conversations about Covid-19.

Emma Tincher’s family just adopted their new Golden Retriever puppy, Archie in 2021. “After staying home all day and not being able to find something to do all day, adopting Archie has added so much love and fun to our family.”

Lizzy Raster’s family added their eighth child to their family, a Mini Bernie Doodle. The Rasters adopted Ocho very early into quarantine who truly is the glue to their home.  The first dog the Rasters have ever had, Ocho has been showered with love from the family since he arrived.

Josie Lloyd says of her corona puppy Charlie (also a Mini Bernie Doodle), “We would have never adopted Charlie if it wasn’t for quarantine.”

Watching families grow and adding a new pet to their homes made a more positive look on everything negative that has been occurring all over the world during this pandemic. Trusting that 2021 will be a better year, puppies have made this switch more “paw-sible” in overcoming the exhausting and boring year of 2020. Give all the corona puppies a big round of “ap-paws” for making families grow closer and in better harmony together under unfortunate circumstances.