First Case of Canine Corona Reported in the US
There have been a handful of cases of dogs testing positive for the coronavirus outside of the US. But now, we have one state-side too. Winston, a pug in North Carolina, appears to be the first dog in the nation to contract COVID-19 from his owners.
This pug is a four-legged member of the McLean family, a family recently dealing with the illness. Sam McClean, an emergency room doctor who treated COVID-19 patients, was the first to fall ill. His wife and son soon followed. The fourth family member, a daughter, either didn’t contract the virus or her illness stayed asymptomatic for its duration. Winston was tested as part of a Duke University study aimed at finding an effective treatment or a preventative vaccine.
During the study, previously infected participants and their families gave blood samples and underwent nasal swabs to arm the researchers with as much information as possible. The scientists began collecting data from household pets as well, hoping to find insight into just how the virus spreads and how contagious it truly is.
As a result, the researchers have tested pet after pet with all the tests coming back as expected: negative. Winston’s was the exception, making him the first US dog to test positive (or so it’s
believed). Of course, most dogs – by and large – aren’t getting tested (heck, most people aren’t getting tested either) so it’s quite possible that Winston isn’t alone.
While Winston didn’t appear that sick, he did have mild symptoms, including a cough for a few days and a refusal to eat. The symptoms were so limited that the family said they were never concerned enough to go to the vet. While it’s possible that the symptoms were in relation to COVID-19, it’s also possible that he was dealing with an unrelated illness.
The McLean’s have two other pets who tested negative for the virus. Winston, on the other hand, is described as a “licker” and affectionate, making him the least likely of the pets to engage in any type of social distancing. That likely played a role in his becoming infected.
People, at least, have that going for us: we aren’t walking around, licking random things. Still, the news of an infected dog is sure to make some pet owners anxious, especially because there is so very much about this virus that we still don’t know. However, doctors and scientists are careful to stress that they don’t believe animals play a role in transmitting (other than the animal from which it originated). Domestic pets – and even tigers at the zoo – might be at risk of getting the virus from us, but the opposite doesn’t appear to be true.
Part of this might be the fact that the domestic animals that have tested positive have done so with very low levels of the virus – it’s possible that they each harbor a level too low to infect a human. Whatever the reason, if dogs or cats were a major player in the spread of the contagion, chances are we would have heard about it by now.
Winston, for his part, is back to normal (according to his family). And probably entirely unaware of the important role he’s played in history.
JJ Keeler lives in Colorado with a house full of pets. She owns three dogs, two cats, and a hamster she bought as a bribe to get her daughter to ride the school bus. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado and has worked as a professional writer for fifteen years. Her clothes are perpetually covered in pet hair.
