Covid-19 and our pets

We hope that everyone is doing well, finding ways to enrich our lives with our pets, seeing the positive in each present moment, as we practise social distancing and work together through Covid-19.
Below are a few points  for you to consider and may they answer some questions on how this virus relates to our pets.

Can animals become sick with Covid-19?

The virus responsible for Covid-19 was found in 2 dogs in Hong Kong, a cat in Belgium and a tiger at a zoo in New York.  Under laboratory settings, ferrets have been shown to be able to develop infection. The dogs  had the virus in their bodies but were not sick.
The risk that animals can contract the virus and become sick is low. There is no proof that the virus would replicate in an animal or that the animal would excrete a dose capable of infecting a person or another animal.
As of now, there have been no reports of transmission of Covid-19 (disease) from a pet to pet or pet to human, despite the pandemic.

(Addendum: After this was written, more sporadic cases of dogs and cats testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies have been found and it is presumed they were infected by humans.  It is still unclear if these animals are able to spread disease to people. A key point is that we must prevent exposure to animals from people who are showing signs of Covid-19 or are isolating due to exposure to Covid-19.)
 
Animals could potentially carry the virus from one person to another on their bodies (fomites).

There are no studies to show how long coronavirus can live on the fur, skin and hide of an animal, but we do know that it can persists for hours on porous surfaces (fur would be considered more porous) like cloth and paper but days on non porous surfaces like plastic (like a collar or leash).
This emphasizes why practising good hygiene is important around our pets as well. Always wash/sanitize your hands before and after touching animals, their food and supplies. Avoid pet contact with other animals and people outside the household.

If you are ill or self isolating due to exposure to Covid-19, avoid the following with your pet:
-petting
-snuggling, kissing and  licking
-sharing food
-sharing a bed, sitting on your lap
-coughing and sneezing on your pet

Remember, these are important precautionary recommendations and the greatest risk is through direct human to human contact for Covid-19.
 
Can we test animals for Covid-19 from our veterinary hospital?

Idexx Laboratories is a lab available to us and they have developed a test for Covid-19 for dogs, cats and horses. They have tested thousands of pets in the US and South Korea. No animals tested positive. It is not recommended to routinely test animals for Covid-19 and doing so requires a multi-step process that involves several authorities to approve the procedure.
If you are a client with a pet that is showing signs of illness and you know that they have been in contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19, please call us so we can help guide you.