After talking about getting a dog for the last couple years, my fianc and I recently adopted a pandemic pup of our own a spaniel mix we named Cody. But the road to adopting wasnt as short or smooth as we had imagined.

The demand for dogs has spiked since the pandemic began in March. With many folks spending their days at home for the foreseeable future, they have more time to cuddle, care for and properly train a canine companion now than they would otherwise.

Starting in the spring, my sister scoured Petfinder every morning and would send me a list of dogs in my area that could live comfortably in my one-bedroom apartment. Sometimes, by the time I clicked on the listing, the rescue was already so inundated with applications that they were asking people to stop submitting for that particular pup. And when we did put in an application, we often wouldnt get a response, even after following up. We were discouraged and wondered if it was going to pan out for us.