Keep touching your face? Pet store suggests cones

If you can’t stop touching your face amid coronavirus concerns, one Michigan pet supply company has a recommendation: the cone of shame.

Mike Palmer, 43, owner of Beverly Hills, Michigan-based Premier Pet Supply, donned a recovery cone — typically used to keep dogs from scratching or biting injuries — in a company Facebook post.

His public service announcement: Pet cones, available at his company’s eight locations, could help patrons follow the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus by not touching their face.

“You’re welcome,” he said. He wasn’t trying to make light of anyone dealing with the deadly, global COVID-19 but wanted to find some humor in a scary situation, he said.

“Sometimes, in many very serious moments, I think we have to find something to laugh about or something to show that we can still have a sense of humor through it all without overdoing it as far as worry,” he said.

He doesn’t think wearing a dog cone is the best way to prevent the illness, though seeing people walk around those would be funny, he said. It might also show they have a good sense of humor.

Palmer thinks some people have been over the top in their precautions; he found a Costco cleared out of water and Clorex wipes when he sought to buy them to prevent influenza spread at his store.

Germ and illness prevention is important, and Palmer said he hoped his post done in jest would also remind patrons of good prevention practices.