CNN Opinion | Opinion: The trend of parting with pets hits close to home

(CNN) – Trends tell stories. Last year, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) reported that one in five US households had acquired a new pet since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, an upshift also reflected in the UK, where I live. Though animal charities feared people would give their new additions up when the reality of ownership sunk in, by May 2021, the vast majority of US pets — 90% for dogs and 85% for cats, according to the ASCPA — remained in those homes.  –read more–