ANNABEL FENWICK ELLIOTT: I adopted Bear, my German shepherd ‘lockdown dog’, from a shifty man wearing a tracksuit. I was desperate to give him a better life. Then I had a baby – and knew he had to go
In this personal column, journalist Annabel Fenwick Elliott recounts adopting Bear, a German shepherd, during the Covid-19 lockdown, buying him from a man she describes as looking "shifty" and wearing a tracksuit, driven by a desire to rescue him and give him a better life. She explains that the dynamic changed dramatically once she had a baby, prompting difficult questions about the dog's behaviour around her child and ultimately leading to her decision that Bear had to be rehomed.
The piece forms part of a wider Daily Mail feature examining why so many "lockdown dogs" bought impulsively during the pandemic are later being given up, with owners citing behavioural problems and changed family circumstances. Elliott uses her own experience with Bear to illustrate the broader trend of hasty pandemic pet adoptions colliding with real-life pressures once households evolve, such as the arrival of a new baby.
- Writer adopted lockdown dog Bear from an informal, dubious seller.
- Having a baby changed the family's ability to keep him.
- She ultimately decided Bear needed to be rehomed.