Pets with their humans | Seattle & Tacoma

Images by Colin Stanley Hovde. Words by Adriana Nodal-Tarafa.
May 2, 2020

We noticed a pattern emerging in this project among people who live with pets. Not only was each hairy creature brought along for the picture, but there was also always a shot of someone showing unabashed affection to their animals. We know people find all kinds of refuge in their relationships with pets, and perhaps they do even more so now. We know a pet can be someone's sole companion and strongest motivator to keep up with self-care during this crisis. We are also aware that pets have become the stars of video meetings during physical distancing, allowing for shared tenderness among a much more extensive network of people. Even a few nights ago, we watched PBS Newshour reporter Lisa Desjardins' cat make a hilarious appearance as she dissected the U.S. Congress's new attempt to correct the course of the Small Business Administration coronavirus lending gone awry.  

So, we decided to dedicate this space to highlighting images of pets with their humans, as another chance to brighten people's newsfeeds. No quotes from the animals were possible, unfortunately. You are stuck with their humans' perspective. Sorry.

“My husband and I got married at our house two years ago. This year, we cannot really go anywhere. [But] being home is not actually terrible. [...] I am really enjoying time spent at home with my husband and animals.”
—Suki, in East Queen Anne

I do wonder, though, how would it be if the animals we bond with or extract labor from could meaningfully convey their experience to us? 

A while ago, I was fascinated to learn that, after tracking many more variables, researchers have found that domesticated dog's anxiety levels mirror their owner's anxiety, but not the other way around. These findings seem to have given some credence to a saying among dog trainers, "The tension flows down the leash." I hope that, just as in human relationships, there is a spectrum, and not all are so vertical. At least among humans, while some relationships are actively nurtured to be seeds for safe, mutually beneficial, and expansive connections, others are more static vessels for the signature one-sided, back-and-forth emotion transferring of poor differentiation on repeat. I hope more pets than less get to be in the former kind of relationships, and that more humans resolve to create them among each other too. 

“I am glad I am in isolation with my family, but it is also surprising how much space we all need; It's not like we're in a tiny N.Y. apartment, but boy do we get territorial”
—Sara in North Tacoma

In that sense, I think of how much emotional stress pets, captive animals, and different people are disproportionately experiencing now. How much disproportionate emotional labor is being doled out, and by whom for the sake of whom.  

“Being a graduate student, I have existed in a highly competitive environment that I thought was what I needed to succeed. However, I have truly thrived, both personally and professionally, now that I have been removed from that competitive space. It is no longer about what everybody else is doing, because, who wants to spend those precious moments interacting digitally with each other comparing accomplishments? Now it is about what you are doing to take care of yourself, those you love, and helping to build a better planet after this.”  

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“This is a chance for all of us who have the privilege to slow down and reflect to use that privilege to benefit those around us [to] make a more equitable community, city, county, state, country, and planet. We are all in this together, but we are not all [...] impacted equally.”
—Kate, in Uptown a.k.a. Lower Queen Anne

On that note, overlooked labor—emotional and otherwise—has been on my mind a lot in the context of this pandemic lately. But, like Kate, it is on my mind often outside of it too, if I am honest. I feel motivated to ask myself continually, 'In which ways am I implicated in keeping overlooked, disproportionate labor that way?', 'Which undue labor am I overlooking in my life?' 'How is this shaping my interactions?' It was validating to read our loving pets' humans' thoughts on relating during these trying times and beyond too. 

"[I hope] that people appreciate each other and the mundane moments more, that people look out for each other financially and emotionally after this is over with the same care I've seen as the pandemic has taken hold."
—Ian, Ian and Erin in Rainier Beach

“Our capacity to care, to change, to connect in very concrete ways (if not in physical presence) [right now] is not so much a surprise as it is a revelation [...] but also the gaps and outright injustices that still exist in our society. This collective vulnerability is terrifying yet has the capacity to be unifying.”

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“I hope we can continue [...] to access these depths of compassion, generosity, and creativity when we're not confronted with a crisis.”
—Sandy, in Capitol Hill