One of the biggest accomplishments in human history, in my opinion, is the domestication of animals. I cannot imagine life without cats, dogs, and other household pets. This pandemic and subsequent quarantine have really shown me the effect pets can have on our lives, and vice versa.
My cat TJ is about two and a half years old, and honestly, she was not very nice immediately after her kitten-stage. Her mood would change on a dime, and if she approached you, you were never sure if she was going to purr or attack. Since most of my family has been home constantly over the past few months, however, she has become so much nicer. She gives us warnings if we are pushing our luck instead of attacking immediately, and spends hours cuddling with us at night. As long as we listen to her, we get along, which is all we want to do.
As for my dog, Ruby Tuesday, she has always been a love-bug. In fact, she loves my mother so much that she has severe separation-anxiety. She can have all four other members of our family with her, yet still mope around if my mother is absent. One would think that having my mother stuck at home during this quarantine would change things, but somehow she has become even more attached to my mother. We do not pretend to understand how that makes sense to her, we just laugh when she moves positions every ten minutes to stay close to my mom.
Despite the quirkiness of my animals, I would not trade them for anything. Having them around during this quarantine has made things so much easier. Sometimes, all you need is a hug from a warm furry friend to be reminded that things will eventually turn out okay.