Comfort of critters during COVID

WRITTEN BY KARI BYINGTON

Western Wasatch Contributor

As I went out to the barn today to help my husband feed our animals, we were greeted with meowing, neighing, and mooing! It is so nice to be needed and wanted with unconditional love (even though we know with the steers it is all “grain” related!)

How fortunate I feel to be living on a farm during tumultuous times, where we can “isolate” at home with our animals! There were days this year when things looked a little bleak, and everyone’s struggles truly became real and sometimes very close to home. Everyone now knows someone who has struggled with Covid. I personally had a daughter, a son, and a daughter-in-law who had the virus. Each of them tested positive and each of them had different symptoms. So strange!

What I did appreciate this year was being able to go out on trail rides (more than I ever had in years) enjoy the beauty of nature, and ride through wilderness in Wyoming that is very seldom seen. Our older barn cat passed away, so I acquired two kittens this year. It was fun to snuggle up with them, feel their purring, and know of their unconditional love towards me!

What a God-given gift our animals are to us, a source of happiness, and well-being! If you are lonely a pet can surely feel that void, and the shelters have just the right one for you and your family for a very decent price! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to my rural and not-so-rural friends, I hope all of us can find that special peace in knowing you can be loved!

Kari Byington and her furry critters during the COVID-19 pandemic.