WHATEVER the animal may be, having a pet has all sorts of advantages.

Whether a dog that will be by your side on longs walks through a forest, or a cat that will cosy up beside you at night as you watch TV – it doesn’t matter what your animal of choice is, as when you form that bond with them, they are a friend for life.

During the past year and living through a Covid pandemic, it was always going to be inevitable that more people were going to look to the animal kingdom for some company.

Last month, the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PMFA) said 3.2 million households in the UK bought a pet since the beginning of the pandemic.

The PMFA say there are now 34 million pets in the UK, with cats and dogs leading the way (12 million); with 3.2 million pets being small mammals such as guinea pigs and hamsters while there are three million birds, 1.5 million reptiles and also 5 million aquaria.

Joanna McEnhill, pictured with her cockapoo, ‘Holly’, is one of the many people benefitting from the exercise of being a dog owner.

“We got her just before the lockdown, so she is about 16 months old now,” said Joanna, who knew of others who have bought dogs in the past year. “I can think of at least four people who have got dogs during the lockdown.”

Not long home from a long walk with Holly on Good Friday, Joanna said there were great benefits to getting outdoors with her dog, and also that it was a good way to have a socially-distanced catch-up with friends.

Fermanagh is home to an abundance of walks along the waters of Lough Erne and through the forests of the county for its abundance of dog walkers, and it is common to see a dog and their owner making the most of the great outdoors.

With the end of lockdown in sight, the PFMA did say there are concerns about what the future may look like for pet owners who don’t know what is going to happen when life returns to some sort of normality, and they may have to return to their workplace.

The RSPCA also have concerns about how this will affect animals who have been used to having their owners around all the time.

But while whatever happens is some time off, our photographs show that the dog owners of Fermanagh are happy to have their furry friend beside them when they are out in the fresh air.