A DOGGONE CONUNDRUM
Experts ‘not overly concerned’ people will get virus by petting animals
For the past three years, 11-yearold Gideon Kidd has dedicated much of his free time to a charming hobby: petting dogs.
But Gideon stopped petting dogs last week. His Iowa, school closed because of the coronavirus, and now he’s practising social distancing — including from dogs. These days, he’s posting photos of himself holding photos of dogs his fans submit, noting in the captions that he’d “love to pet” them.
“The experts and doctors have said, ‘Stay home, stay low, don’t go out that much,’” Gideon said by phone Tuesday. “So me and my mom decided that we should not go up to people, because I don’t want to make me sick or others sick.”
Gideon’s decision was made out of concern for humans, not fear that COVID-19 could be transmitted between boy and dog. But it is reflective of a conundrum now facing dog parkgoers, dog walkers and dog-loving people everywhere: Can I still pet other people’s dogs?
“We’re getting questions from our members, some hysterical, about whether people can be exposed to the coronavirus by petting a dog or cat,” said David Emanuel, a board member of the dog advocacy group SFDOG in San Francisco, where a citywide shelter-in-place order allows dog-walking.
As with so much related to the coronavirus, there’s no simple answer, though experts say there is no reason to keep your paws off your own dog if you have no symptoms of sickness.
Things are a bit less clear when it comes to other dogs. One dog in Hong Kong tested “weak positive” for the virus that causes
COVID-19, in a case city officials said was a likely case of humanto-dog transmission. But the dog showed no symptoms and researchers say that single case is not strong evidence that dogs can catch the virus. There is no indication dogs — or any other pet — can transmit it to humans through droplets, the World Health Organization says.
But can a dog’s fur or skin could be contaminated by the virus if, for example, its infected owner sneezed on it? A study reported the virus can live under laboratory conditions for three days on plastic and steel and one day on cardboard. Might it also reside happily on the lush coat of a dog?
Experts do recommend that people infected with COVID-19 stay away from pets, as they should from people. So the most conservative approach would be to refrain from touching others’ dogs, because its owner could be asymptomatic. But based on available evidence, there’s little reason to avoid petting, says the American Veterinary Medical Association. (Though social distancing advises the owner is on the other end of a leash at least six feet long.)
“We’re not overly concerned about people contracting COVID-19 through contact with dogs and cats,” said Gail Golab, the AVMA’S chief veterinary officer.
Environmental contamination via surfaces appears to be a secondary route of transmission, and “the virus survives best on smooth surfaces, such as countertops and doorknobs,” Golab said. “Porous materials, such as pet fur, tend to absorb and trap pathogens, making it harder to contract them through touch.”