Humans and animals share many diseases. And as dramatically shown by the tigers that tested positive in the Bronx Zoo, the coronavirus is one of them. As three veterinary epidemiologists who study infectious disease, we have been asked a lot of questions about if and how the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 affects pets. Can my pet get the coronavirus? When talking about a virus, the words "get" or "catch" are vague. A more precise question is: Can my cat or dog become infected with SARS-CoV-2? The answer is yes. There is evidence from real-world cases as well as laboratory experiments that both cats and dogs can become infected with coronavirus. In Hong Kong, health officials have tested 17 dogs and eight cats living with COVID-19 patients for the coronavirus. They found evidence of the virus in two dogs: a Pomeranian and a German shepherd, though neither became sick. None of the eight cats were infected or had been sick. However, there is a separate report of an infected cat from Hong Kong. To read more on this story, click here:Can Pets Get The Coronavirus, And Can We Catch It From Them? Here's The Science
Pet food is considered an essential item here in Ohio and in Pennsylvania, and it can get expensive LISBON, Ohio (WKBN) – We’ve seen thousands of people go through food donation lines here in the Valley, but one thing that often gets overlooked is the need for pet food. Pet food for dogs and cats was one of the items we saw people panic buying in March. During that time period, dog food sales spiked almost 54 percent, which made finding it difficult. Pet food is considered an essential item here in Ohio and in Pennsylvania, and it can get expensive. Buying dog food when you’re unemployed or furloughed can be tough as the average bag costs about $20 to $30. To read more on this story, click here:Lisbon Business Donates 50,000 Pounds of Pet Food
Spain, which is enduring one of the world’s biggest and deadliest outbreaks, grapples with moral and practical questions on caring for animals when their owners are suddenly sick. MADRID — The coronavirus strikes. The patient — at home, sometimes alone — becomes desperately ill. The ambulance finally arrives to take the person away. Then, a second team, clad in hazmat gear, follows to rescue a household member abandoned in the chaos and suddenly in need of a new caregiver: the patient’s pet. The teams, from the Madrid animal shelter El Refugio, end up placing the pets in foster homes with people who will care for them temporarily while Spain’s strict lockdown is in place and so much is in flux. To read more on this story, click here:When Pet Owners Fall Ill With Coronavirus, What Happens Next?
While the impact of this pandemic has ranged from absolute boredom to more serious things like job losses and health issues, some of our pets are coping in their own ways. A local veterinarian who focuses on animal behavior and stress is not surprised to hear our pets are stressed, too. Matt O'Donnell spoke with Dr. Carlo Siracusa of Penn's Ryan Veterinary Hospital about Bailey, his generally happy and spoiled 8-year-old Shichon. To read more on this story, click here:Pet Owners Note Behavioral changes in Their Cats and Dogs During the Coronavirus Pandemic
They loved us long before they looked domesticated. By answering an age-old question about man’s best friend, scientists have figured out how wolves became the dogs we all know and love today. It’s pretty common knowledge that dogs are related to their wild canine cousins, but the new study lays out how the transformation occurred. Namely, it asserts that wolves became good boys behavior-wise before they started looking more like domesticated dogs than wolves. To read more on this story, click here:How Dogs Went From Wolves to Man’s Best Friend, According to Scientists
If you have a pet that you’ve adopted, you know just how wonderful of an experience it was to give your little furbaby a second chance at life. There is nothing sweeter than seeing their faces light up when they realize that they’re leaving the shelter. And it makes you feel good knowing that you helped save a life and make a difference. But how much more of a good feeling would it be knowing that you’re being rewarded for choosing adoption? One state might soon be giving tax credits to those who adopt animals. To read more on this story, click here:Proposed Law Would Give $125 Tax Credit To People Who Adopt Rescue Pets
You’re a honeybee. Despite being around 700,000 times smaller than the average human, you’ve got more of almost everything. Instead of four articulated limbs, you have six, each with six segments. (Your bee’s knees, sadly, don’t exist.) You’re exceptionally hairy. A shock of bristly setae covers your body and face to help you keep warm, collect pollen, and even detect movement. Your straw-like tongue stretches far beyond the end of your jaw, but has no taste buds on it. Instead, you “taste” with other, specialized hairs, called sensillae, that you use to sense the chemicals that brush against particular parts of your body. To read more on this story, click here:What Is It Like to Be a Bee?
The nation's hospitals, facing dire shortages of lifesaving ventilators as the coronavirus outbreak continues, are finding help from an unlikely source: animal doctors. The country's largest veterinary schools, animal hospitals and even zoos are offering up ventilators to hospitals that are scrambling to care for a growing number of critically ill coronavirus patients. Similar efforts elsewhere could produce hundreds of machines and save countless lives. "Every single one of these ventilators makes a difference," Dr. Andrew T. Maccabe, chief executive officer of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, told ABC News. To read on this story, click here:Ventilators shipped from veterinarians to hospitals to combat COVID-19 shortage
The thought of being anywhere near a giant spider is terrifying to most of us. It’s easy to see why gigantic arachnids appear in books and films as villainous creatures — they just look like the stuff of nightmares. Luckily, big bad spiders like Shelob in Lord of the Rings and Aragog in Harry Potter only exist in the fictional world. However, there are scary spiders in this world that are very much real, like the Goliath Birdeater. To read more on this story, click here: Meet The Goliath Birdeater, The World’s Largest Tarantula That Eats Sparrows
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, in effect the executive committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in late February issued an edict banning the country’s “wet markets,” including those in Wuhan, the source of the current COVID-19 outbreak. The statement notes that “it is necessary to strengthen market supervision, resolutely ban and severely crack down on illegal wildlife markets and trade, and control major public health risks from the source.” The Straits Times of Singapore has reported that eight laws have been passed in the last week. We have no details on the contents of the legislation. It’s too soon to know, though, whether we have been down this road before. To read more on this story, click here:The Chinese Wild-Animal Industry and Wet Markets Must Go
The oldest fossil of a modern bird, dating from the age of dinosaurs, has been discovered, a new study reports. The tiny fossil, nicknamed the "wonderchicken," includes a nearly complete skull hidden inside nondescript pieces of rock, and dates to more than 66 million years ago. That's less than 1 million years before the asteroid impact that killed off all the large dinosaurs. "The moment I first saw what was beneath the rock was the most exciting moment of my scientific career," said study lead author Daniel Field of the University of Cambridge in the U.K. in a statement. To read more on this story, click here:Oldest Bird Fossil Discovered, Nicknamed 'Wonderchicken'
Longtime readers of the site know my affinity for fish so this one hits home – thanks to Patricia for passing on from Penn Quarter Teaism: “Well friends… wanted to do a live video but wasn’t sure how to do it on Facebook and Instagram at the same time. If you’re stuck at home with kids who normally like to come watch the fish, you can entertain them with this. To read more on this story, click here: Save Teaism’s Koi!!
While there's no evidence that pets can catch coronavirus, some vets believe there's a way they can spread the virus through touching pet hair. POTOMAC, Md. — Veterinarians are taking unprecedented precautions in the age of coronavirus, such as not allowing walk-in appointments and meeting pet owners outside. It's all in an effort to protect people from fomites. The Centers for Disease Control says there is no evidence that pets can catch coronavirus. But some veterinarians believe that pets can pass it on. If a person doesn't know they have coronavirus, but has a virus droplet on their hands and then pets a dog in someone’s backyard, the virus could end up on the pet’s hair. To read more on this story, click here:How To Prevent Your Pets From Spreading Coronavirus
Most of us would do anything for our pets: we adjust our homes for them, buy them their favorite foods, and pay for expensive vet bills. Some of us would even put our lives on the line for them without expecting the favor to be returned. So, for all we do for them, it’s pretty amazing when our furry friends do make a sacrifice for us! And while it’s dogs that are often trained to be helpful and loyal, our feline family members are there for us, too! Just take a look at these incredible cats who saved their owners’ lives… To read more on this story, click here:Brave Superhero Cats That Saved People’s Lives
