I adopted a dog during the coronavirus pandemic, and he's helping me find a sense of routine amid the lockdown

The online pet community has already helped us with a clue about Whistler's breed — likely some combination of Staffordshire terrier, Jack Russell terrier, maybe some Labrador retriever – and everyone could use more dog pictures on their social media feeds.

If you've adopted a pet during quarantine, I'd love to hear your advice and see your pet pictures – tweet me @MeghanEMorris.

• Read more:
• Pet adoption is spiking during the coronavirus pandemic. Here are 7 ways they can improve your health.
• Busch will give you a '3-month supply' of free beer if you adopt or foster a pup as shelters close
  
• My boyfriend and I moved in together in New York City during the pandemic. Here's how we did it.

Ahead of bringing Whistler home, we spent several hundred dollars on dog gear, including at a small local pet store where we could get food and other supplies much faster than waiting for online shipments. As local businesses face an unprecedented crisis, I was happy to use the money we'd typically spend on entertainment and travel at an independent store.

Whistler loves people and other dogs, so even though we keep 6 feet apart from the humans, he's introduced us to dozens of people and dogs we wouldn't have met otherwise. In this time of social isolation, even masked face-to-face small talk helps reduce the isolation.

The biggest difference has been my mornings. Pre-dog, I struggled to get out of bed before 8:15 a.m., and I immediately started the day by checking the news from bed, which isn't good for mental health. Now when I get up early to walk the dog, I have a full hour afterwards to do physical therapy exercises and read the news over breakfast before beginning my work.

I'm a triathlete who enjoys meeting friends for pre-dawn cycling in Central Park. Without the structure of friends to train with and an injury I can't treat until after the pandemic, I've struggled to get out of bed and out the door for fresh air before work.

In normal times, I walk around New York City enough to make up for missing a training day. The routine of walking to and from the subway or a Citibike, plus traversing Manhattan for meetings, keeps me alert and engaged. But since shelter-in-place started, I've walked 1.7 miles less per day than I did at the same time last year, per my iPhone tracker.

But in Whistler's first week, I hit my pre-quarantine walking levels of 10,000+ steps most days.

At first, he cowered in front of my fiancé, which we speculated came from a history of problems with men. He warmed up throughout the day, once he assessed that the bearded man was a friend, not a threat.

We spent the next few days taking him on walks around the neighborhood and helping him adjust.

He smelled horribly, so we wrestled him into a bath in the afternoon. He was dehydrated from the trip, so we gave him plenty of water and a tablespoon of pumpkin mixed into his meals to help settle his stomach.

I'd dreamed of giving a good home to a dog for years, and the minute we met Whistler in person, we knew we made the right decision.

We bought everything we needed: a crate, toys, food, treats, water and food bowls, a harness, and a leash. The adoption agency walked us through which brands and sizes would be best for our dog. (He later took an instant liking to his antler, snufflemat, and peanut butter-stuffed kong.)

I grew up with dogs, but we always trained them from puppies, and I knew that adopting a rescue dog means they'll come with a different set of challenges. Our adoption center sent a great packet of information ahead of time, and we also studied training tips and adoption best practices here.

Of course, we also needed to choose a name for him. We wanted to rename our dog, since his original name was one that we like for a future child. With input from friends, we put together a list of possible names, and narrowed them down over the course of a few days until one felt right: Whistler.

The shelter pointed us to another dog that wasn't yet on their "adoptables" listing. The coordinator thought that because he was more active and liked dogs more than the first dog we applied for, he'd be a better fit.

We saw photos of him during a virtual adoption event hosted on social media and instantly fell in love. I liked that the shelter focused on matching dogs' and families' personalities.

Due to the lockdown restrictions, we did a video walk-through of our apartment rather than an in-person tour. Afterwards, the nonprofit called two of my friends, who I volunteered because they've seen me around their dogs.

It was all worth it: We found out we were approved for adoption.

First, we scoped out the available dogs. Similar to perusing Streeteasy for apartments, I spent hours on Petfinder and various Facebook dog adoption groups for my area, which you may find by typing in your city/region and "dog adoption."

Once we identified potential pets, we started calling shelters. A volunteer at the first shelter scolded me for wanting an active dog, telling me that dogs shouldn't run because it's bad for their hearts (I'm guessing one of my favorite authors, dogsledder Blair Braverman, would disagree!) so I looked at other groups. I closely read the shelters' online reviews on Google, Facebook, and Yelp to understand other adopters' experiences.

After hours of research, we emailed an agency – Jersey City- and Houston-based Joyrides Rescue – and sent in an application. I learned that you have to be prepared to provide information ranging from stipulations in your lease (like what breeds are prohibited) to contact information for multiple non-family members who can vouch for you. If you currently have pets, have your vet info handy, too.

Over a phone call with an adoption coordinator, we talked through our living situation, personalities, and what kind of dog we hoped to adopt. That call helped the nonprofit decide that we weren't a great fit for the dog we originally applied for, since she's not very active.

I wrongly assumed we'd only be in shelter-in-place for a few weeks, so we first looked to foster, (i.e. take in a dog for the short term). Once we realized it would be months before we returned to work, and perhaps longer before we resumed traveling, we decided to find a forever dog.

We narrowed down the kind of dog we wanted to adopt to characteristics that matched our lifestyle. Because there are thousands of dogs available, it helped to focus before we started the search. We agreed on a medium-size young adult with no major underlying health issues and an active personality. We also factored in the breeds our property management company excludes from our lease.