“I spent a lot of time at home, and the loneliness started to weigh on me,” said Bruno Soares, a 36-year-old computer technician who is one of many to have brought a dog — Brazil’s pet of choice — into his life during the global pandemic.
“People who used to pay for grooming every 15 days now pay for grooming every week, because they don’t want to have the dog dirty inside the house,” said Renato, whose revenue has doubled. Along with pharmacies and supermarkets, pet goods stores could continue operating even as many other businesses have had to close their doors during intermittent lockdowns since March last year.
The country of 212 million had some 54.2 million dogs in 2018, according to the Brazil Pet Institute.