Category: COVID-19

Last month, a researcher at Duke University claimed that Winston, a pug, was the first dog in the U.S. to test positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus the causes COVID-19. Initially, Winston “wasn’t tested because they thought he was sick,” but as part of a research project at Duke University. Given that two dogs in Hong Kong who also were reported to be positive had either negative confirmatory or mixed test results, a positive confirmation in…

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Study which claims cats can “easily” transmit SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, to each other and expresses concern about transmission to people shows no such thing. Late last week, CBS News published a somewhat alarmist article called, “Study shows cats can easily spread coronavirus to each other”. The article also expressed concern about cat-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Similar articles appeared in The New York Times, CNN, USA Today, Fox…

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Recent reports suggest that a dog in the U.S. has tested positive for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Winston, a pug, and the humans in his family tested positive. The family noted that Winston “wasn’t tested because they thought he was sick,” but as part of a research project at Duke University. Winston is the first dog in the U.S. reported to test positive and the third in the world (two in Hong Kong),…

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Should we be overtly worried about our cats? And should we fear cats? The answer to both questions remains, “no.” Two cats with mild respiratory issues in New York, from different parts of the state, tested positive for COVID-19. They are the first two pet cats to test positive in the U.S. Outside the U.S., only two other cats have tested positive. They both recovered. By comparison, 2.7 million humans have been confirmed to have…

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Donald Kennedy died of COVID-19 yesterday. Kennedy was the President of Stanford University when I started there as a law student oh so many years ago. He will be remembered by many people for many things. But I will remember him for being a TNR pioneer. During his tenure, a population of roughly 1,000 cats lived on campus when University officials announced a plan to trap and remove the cats. That announcement was met with…

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Last week, I called out Maddie’s Fund and some of its partner organizations for fearmongering about whether people can get infected with SARS-COV-2 from dogs and cats, because the evidence clearly says they cannot. News reports, however, have suggested that a new study conducted by government officials in China concludes the opposite for cats (though not dogs) — that they can get it from humans and then give it to one another. The headlines proclaim…

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There’s been a request by some national organizations that shelters, rescue groups, and low-cost clinics suspend spay/neuter surgeries during the current crisis. For example, an article in The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement which claims to promote “best practices from industry leaders,” says “Spay and neuter services for the public, shelter pets, and TNR/SNR” are not “essential functions” and should “just stop.” This view is endorsed by the National Animal Control Association, which deemed community…

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How to Protect Shelter Animals from Killing and Shelter Workers from Exposure Every day now, I am receiving an alert of another shelter or pound closing to the public for adoptions. Many of these are pounds with a history of routinely putting animals to death. Others are private humane societies, but this means they are not pulling animals from pounds in their communities where the animals are now under a heightened death threat. How should…

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