Sit, Stay ... See You Soon!
As your family
returns to work
and school,
here’s how to
help your pets
handle the
transition. BY JENNIFER MARINO WALTERS
W henever Adam Lopuch would leave his house — to pick up food, to drive the baby to daycare or even
just to mow the lawn — his Labrador retriever, Bella, would go nuts. She’d bark like crazy. She’d jump
on the windowsill, sometimes scratching off the paint. She’d pant.

After Lopuch and his wife, Abbie, got some tips from a trainer, Bella’s separation anxiety eased a
bit. Her twice-weekly trips to doggie day care have helped as well. But when Lopuch returns to the office in September
following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, he’s worried about how Bella will react to his being gone on the days she’s
not at day care.

“I’ve had a lot of anxiety about it,” Lopuch admits.

And he’s not alone. According to the American Pet Products Association, more than 11 million U.S. households got a
new pet during the pandemic. A large number of those pets were dogs. And those pandemic pups have spent a lot of time
30 Washington FAMILY AUGUST 2021