There is new information showing that in addition to cats, dogs can contract COVID-19. Yesterday a dog in North Carolina who had mild symptoms of a cold, tested SARS-CoV2 positive. He is believed to have contracted it from his owner who was also positive.
This means both dogs and cats are vulnerable to catching COVID-19 from humans. Given this information, we recommend you take social distancing precautions with your pets (just as you are with yourself).
This means if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or test positive, please isolate yourself from your pet. Treat them as you would another family member and do not kiss,hug or come into close contact with them. To minimize their exposure, we also recommend you avoid having other people interact with your pet. When outside for leash walks don’t have other people come closer than 6 feet and inside they should have no interaction with anyone except the immediate family sheltering in place.
Although this is very new, the animals so far that have contracted coronavirus, seem to only have mild symptoms (loss of appetite, coughing) and fully recover in a few days without any treatment.
There is NO evidence at this time, that dogs can give it to their owners or spread it to each other. We do not think dogs/cats are playing a role in the spread of the virus. We also don’t think infections are or will be as common in them. Only a handful of animals worldwide have tested positive so far (as opposed to 3million+ people).
