No, people aren't returning pandemic dogs in droves

Giving up their pets borders on the unthinkable for many. “No, no, never — not even crossing my mind,” said Danni McCarville, 55, an artist who lives in the mountains outside Trinidad, Colo., with her husband, a lawyer. They brought home Buck, a Colorado mountain dog, in December. “It’s like getting rid of a kid.” “He makes us laugh all day long and doesn’t even know he’s funny,” Ms. McCarville said. “He brings joy, especially at the time it was fun to have some joy in the house.”... [N]ational animal welfare groups say that, in fact, dogs adopted during the pandemic are largely remaining in their new homes, and shelters nationwide have not reported alarming increases in adopted pets being abandoned now that workplaces and schools are reopening. “We don’t have any evidence to show that shelters are seeing an increase,” said Michael San Filippo, a spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association.