One area also experiencing a shortage in supply is the RSPCA and dogs for adoption.

RSPCA chief executive Jan Davis said since the start of the pandemic, the demand for dogs had risen, while more people had started to work from home and others had chosen or needed to isolate

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She said on an average day, the organisation receives about two to three requests for four-legged friends, with the demand reaching a critical point late last year.

"We saw before the pandemic there were very few dogs available for adoption for a whole range of reasons," she said.

"A lot of people, particularly during the pandemic, were wanting new canine friends and there's just not been the supply to be able to keep up with it."

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Ms Davis said while the shortage in Tasmania was significant, the availability of dogs on the mainland had also been impacted by a spike in adoptions.

"This is statewide, but when you look at our national adopt-a-pet webpage it looks like there's a lot of animals for the other states, but when you compare the numbers there down now to what they had four or five years ago.

"The availability, particularly for dogs, is way down."

Within Tasmania, Ms Davis said the RSPCA only had one dog available for adoption, but she needed a very special owner and home.

"We have only got one dog available at the moment and I believe that's Mary Jane," she said.

"She's got some health issues, so we're looking for a particular carer for her, they are long term health issues, but we don't have any other dogs."

Ms Davis said one of the main reasons for the rise in adoption rates was the emotional and health benefits dogs could provide, especially for people in isolation or living alone.

"It's a companion thing particularly with so many people living by themselves these days," she said.

"They give you somebody to talk to, they give you somebody that sets routines that you need to keep, they need to be fed, they need to be watered, they need to be walked, they want to cuddle, it gives meaning to what can be quite an isolated life - even outside a pandemic.

"Particularly, in a family situation, most people want their children to grow up with the responsibility and the benefit of having a pet, so lots and lots of things for mental health."

The rise in demand for pets during the pandemic was understandable according to Mental Health Council of Tasmania chief executive Connie Digolis.

She said it wasn't just people being forced to isolate, but those choosing to isolate for health and safety reasons that we're now seeking a way to maintain a social connection - with many turning to animals.

"There are some additional benefits when we look at the current environment as well, it provides us with a distraction from what is actually happening in the rest of the world, it provides us with an opportunity to be able to care for someone else or something else," she said.

"If we're on our own, that actually provides a sense of value in yourself that you're needed and that you need to be around to actually be looking after someone.'

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Ms Digolis said the way people are geared to seek companionship and build meaningful connections was evident in the relationship that people were now building with their pets.

"We are social animals, so having that connection to another living thing is incredibly important for us, it's kind of built into our psyche not to be isolated," she said.

"That's a really important thing to have in your life, particularly if you're not actually socialising and having that connection to other people in your community, in a way that you may have before the pandemic.

"You can look at so many benefits, emotional and mental wellbeing benefits to having pets and animals. I can't speak for cats because I'm a dog person but a dog seems to forgive absolutely everything."

RSPCA deputy chief executive Andrea Dawkins said the role of dogs in providing emotional support for people was evident in the way they were being used in healthcare settings more routinely - even in our own backyard.

Last year, the Launceston General Hospital Emergency Department announced the appointment of a facility dog for the hospital.

The appointment of the four-year-old black Labrador was the first time a facility dog had been used in an emergency department anywhere in Australia.

Recruiting the former guide dog to support the hospital was the brainchild of his new handler LGH ED director Lucy Reed, who said the idea came to her after a difficult few months in the hospital.

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She said support dogs had visited the hospital in the past and found they always had a positive impact on patients and staff.

"We had a dog called Gracie you came in just once a week and she lifted the department every time she arrived," she said.

Dogs have also been used to great effect in other health settings across Launceston to support people and provide comfort in challenging times.

Edwina Colvin and her therapy dog Tilly volunteer at several locations across Launceston with Tilly providing support and comfort for people in palliative care.

As an experienced volunteer, Ms Colvin said she identified a need within some patients for animal companionship she thought Tilly could fill.

She said elderly people who had had a dog, but had been forced to give it up often miss having a pet around.

She said bringing in a therapy dog, even if only for a little while, was often a comfort to people who could be feeling isolated or alone. Ms Dawkins said the dynamic between a person and their dog, while emotionally complex, was also simplistic in terms of the value provided.

"There's a simplicity in the human-animal relationship that just cuts through so much of the complexity of the human to human relationship," she said.

"As modern life becomes more complex we expect so much more from ourselves and our partners and our families, I think that's why the human-animal relationship, especially with dogs, is so valuable.

"There's a simplicity that we can't find anywhere else and it's unconditional, It's completely unconditional."

Andrew Chounding is The Examiner's Health Reporter, if you have a health-related story please email Andrew.chounding@examiner.com.au

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