Pups of the pandemic hold the pack together
Adrienne Lamb | CBC News | Posted: May 8, 2021 1:30 PM | Last Updated: May 8, 2021
'Fur babies are everything to people,' says Patricia Rooker
I have a dog and during the pandemic Jed, our five-year-old beagle, has been the glue of our family.
Clearly, I'm not alone because when I recently posted a pup picture to Twitter, Albertans were all too happy to share their own furry family members.
We've all seen the stories about the numbers of pandemic puppies, but this spring you can see the increase in four legged COVID-19 companions at local greenspaces and the 40 dog off-leash areas in Edmonton.
"Fur babies are everything to people," said Patricia Rooker, the city's supervisor of operations program delivery and partnerships.
"You'll see families walking through [Buena Vista Park], cyclists, runners without animals, and then you'll also see dog owners down here in big fields playing fetch and walking their dogs on a regular basis."
According to the city the Rossdale Trail system saw 50,000 more users and the Gold Bar Trail saw 140,000 more users in 2020 compared to 2019.
You can see more from the off-leash area at Buena Vista Park on Our Edmonton on Saturday at 10 a.m., Sunday at noon and 11 a.m. Monday on CBC TV and the CBC GEM.