What We Know Today
We hope this finds you all safe and healthy! We have been getting some questions regarding pets and COVID-19. There is so much information “out there” that it is easy to get concerned or confused. The management team at LMDDC has been participating in every available webinar we can, hosted by elite experts ranging from disinfecting/air purification engineers, to veterinarians, to animal lab supervisors, to pet industry advisors, and more, who specialize in these sort of things. Additionally, we are staying very, very close to any updated guidance from sources such as the CDC and the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The large bulk of the guidance is focused on protocols to follow with dogs from COVID-19 positive households. (As you know, we are not allowing in dogs from any households with infected members.) So, to help answer the questions related to the more recent news around pets, we wanted to summarize and share What We Know Today.
At this time, there is no evidence that companion animals, including pets, can spread COVID-19.
The scientific community is aligned that the current spread of COVID-19 is a result of person-to-person transmissions. Pets have not been associated with the spread to humans anywhere in the world.
The scientific community is of course still learning about this virus, but it does appear as if there are some situations in which it can spread from people to animals. There have been some rare reports of virus detection in companion animals you may be aware of. There were two dogs from separate households in China, but in North America, there were two cats from separate households in NY, and there has been one recent report of a dog (a pug) in North Carolina. In each of these cases, the animals presented mild-to-moderate symptoms and fully recovered, and in each of these cases, they were exposed with close contact to humans who were positive for the virus. Even the large animals you may have heard about (the tigers in the zoo in the Bronx) are reported to have been exposed to humans (zoo staff/animal handlers) who were positive for the virus. These have been very rare, and again, there is no evidence of the animal being a source of spread of the virus. By far, the greatest risk of COVID-19 exposure comes from person-to-person. (We are of course following all CDC guidelines / protocols for our staff and clients!)
We hope this helps, and we thank you for your continued support and entrusting us with the care of your precious pet family members. We continue to operate and care for our pups with all mitigation protocols in place and our confidence is as high as ever that your pups, and your family, are safe with us. If you have any further questions please do let us know. Thank you!