Paws for thought: Why so many of us became dog owners during lockdown

With dogs at a premium during this crisis, what is a dog's life really like these days?

With dogs at a premium in this time of pandemic, families have been shelling out big bucks for canine pets to cheer up the children and to make going for walks accompanied by a dog more purposeful. But puppies are not just for Covid-19. They're a big responsibility. With children returning to school and, in some cases, their parents going back to the workplace after working from home since lockdown, will the expensive pooches be forgotten, languishing in the house without company?

Cork-born UK-based influencer and Instagram star, Eimear Varian Barry, is under no illusions about how much care dogs require. This mother of three — Saoirse, 6, Harper, 4, and Lennon, two and a half — grew up with dogs, having rescued a Jack Russell that now lives with her parents in Kerry.