Health and economic consequences: How COVID-19 affected households with pet and their pets. A systematic review

Households with pets had a unique experience with the COVID-19 since the lock-down protocols did not affect only the relationship they had with people but also with their pets. This paper analysed the evidence on the effect of COVID-19 on pets and pets owners. Employing the systematic review guidelines, the PubMed and the Google scholar database were utilised to select empirical studies published in English that focused on: (1) the COVID-19 effects on pets and (2) the COVID-19 effects on pet owners. We identified 24 articles conducted across 7 countries that met the eligibility criteria of the review. Few other studies used participants from multiple countries. Most of the studies utilised the cross-sectional survey and collected data from pet owners. Also, about 44.0% of the studies were published in only one journal (animal). COVID-19 affected the health status of both pets and pet owners. Despite the several negative health implications, there was some evidence of positive health implications. Surprisingly, several pet owners were not affected by the negative economic consequences of the pandemic. Recommendations for future studies were made in line with where attention is needed.