We love our walkers at Windy City Paws. We wanted to share the experience of one of our walkers, Dustin B., regarding what it is like to dog walk during COVID-19. Read on to learn more about what a typical day in his life looks like during these times!
My regular routine hasn’t changed very much since the outbreak of COVID. I live and work in the Roscoe Village/Lakeview area so my walk to work is very short, some of my customers live only a couple blocks from my apartment. Once I arrive at my client’s house I sanitize my hands before knocking or ringing the bell. Starting next week will be the first of my clients who are requesting I enter their home and perform the walk as I did pre-pandemic, but I still meet with plenty of clients at their door to hand off the pooch.
I don’t think there’s a person on this planet who hasn’t been affected by this pandemic and had some kind of struggle whether it be your own community not taking this seriously, battling with depression from missing friends, family or your old routine. Personally not knowing how long this will last and how serious COVID-19 can become has affected me the most. It would be a lot easier if we knew what we are dealing with and for how long it will continue to be a part of our lives but the uncertainty is what kills me.
There have been a couple of things that have helped me through this though. One being my cat and the other a podcast I’m making with my friends. Getting a pet has been one of the best decisions of my life and is what ultimately led me to this profession. His name is Burgers and he’s a Russian Blue with a couple of brown rings at the end of this tail. I adopted him from the East Valley Animal Shelter in Los Angeles California before I moved here to Chicago. Burgers is a very affectionate and social cat and having him to care for has made this experience not so lonely. The podcast (Lookin’ Back and a Grinnin’ Like and Subscribe on YouTube) was originally a show that I wanted to make at Film School but have finally turned it into a podcast. My friends and I record the show over our phones and computers and it’s been a fun creative project that has given us a hobby while keeping the skills we learned at school sharp during a period where entertainment industry work is even harder to come by.
I hope this blog post finds everyone well during these trying times.
We want to thank Dustin for sharing his experience! We would also like to thank our clients who have been working with us to help keep their pets and walkers healthy and safe during this time!
Written for Windy City Paws by Dustin B.