First dog in the US may have tested positive for COVID

After members of a North Carolina family tested positive for the new coronavirus, they found out their pet pug tested positive, too, possibly the first dog in the U.S. to be diagnosed with the virus.

But owner Heather McLean, anassociate professor at Duke University, hopes that it doesn’t spark too much concern over household pets contracting and spreading the virus.

The McLean family, which is part of a study led by Dr. Chris Woods, a virologist and one of Heather’s colleagues at Duke, discovered Friday that their pug, Winston, tested positive for COVID-19.

Every week since the beginning of April, a team of researchers has come to their house to perform blood tests and nasal swabs for the family.

“On the first day,” Heather explained, “they nasal swabbed all the pets.”

Woods told NBC News that Winston may be the first dog nationwide to have a confirmed case of the virus.