If you are a pet owner, you already have the great advantage of easily staying in shape during the COVID lockdown.  I noticed, when my company began its remote work environment back in March, that I right away began gaining weight, and it piled on fast.  Took about a minute to figure out I was engaging in more than my normal amount of comfort eating.  I knew I had to think outside the box to get that weight back off, because I hate exercising.  And, for a comfort eater, dieting is a very ugly word.

How Bandit Is Helping Me Lose Weight.

But it wasn’t hard to figure out the perfect answer.  I already take my awesome little dog Bandit out in the back yard every day for play time – at least twice a day, even three or four times a day sometimes now that I’m working from home during the lockdown.  It’s our time together out in the sunshine and fresh air, and we love it.  But he was the one getting all the exercise.  I just threw the ball.  So for me the answer was easy — I just started running with him.  Boom – problem solved.  Now I throw the ball and chase it right alongside Bandit.  He thinks that’s pretty cool, by the way.  Dogs love when you’re as excited about their toys as they are.  Sometimes we just get down on the floor and wrestle.  Bandit couldn’t be more thrilled for the extra attention and playtime, and I’m encouraged knowing it’s working for the good of my health as well.

How Gabriel Is Helping Me Lose Weight, Too.

I also have cats — Gabriel, SpeedBump, and Chelsea.  Although they sleep a lot more than Bandit, they do have their moments during the day when they get tickled and zoom the house.  So I’m taking advantage of those moments and zoom along with them, trailing long cat toys behind me for them to catch, or tossing squeaky toys across the room and running with them to retrieve.  Or making it a game of tag you’re it.  My cats love when I chase them through the house!

Better Than Taking A Happy Pill.

There are occasionally days during this never-ending lockdown when I don’t feel so much like running and playing, but I push on anyway.  Once we start and I feel the energy flowing, I’m very happy to be at it; almost feels like I took a happy pill!  And the pets are relieved to be shedding pent-up energy, too.  Remember — exercise benefits both you and your pets by reducing, even eliminating, stress, which we all know is bad bad bad for your body.  And Lord knows the lockdown has put a boatload of stress on everyone.  So, with the new more interactive playtime in our house, the pets are happier, I’m happier, everyone’s healthier.  And – the weight is coming off.  It’s a win-win for us all.

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God Bless and Happy Pet Parenting!

With love and good wishes,
jeannie.   ?

About jeannie:  I’ve been pro-actively involved in pet rescue all of my life. I founded Milagro Senior Pet Refuge© (Phoenix) in 1998, and BareFootPets (TM) in 2008. Animal welfare has always been and will always be my heart’s work. If my only legacy is that I save a handful of precious souls that would not survive otherwise, I’m good with that.

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