Veterinarians urge pet owners to have a care plan for animals amid pandemic
Veterinarians urge pet owners to have a care plan for animals amid pandemic
Veterinarians are urging you to have a plan, now that a new wave of COVID cases is hitting the country.
CHICAGO - What happens to your pets if you get COVID-19?
Veterinarians are urging you to have a plan, now that a new wave of COVID cases is hitting the country.
What if you couldn't leave your home to walk your dogs? That's exactly what happened to a Chicago couple.
Stephen Barnes and his husband Nathan Kluth were devastated when Stephen was diagnosed with COVID in early March.
"How do we handle walking the dogs? That turned into a question right off the bat, and that turned into a really stressful kind of 24 hour period because we weren't supposed to leave the unit at all,” said Barnes.
In addition to fielding calls from the State Health Department and Northwestern Medicine, they were on the phone with their veterinarian.
"That's the thing, sometimes I don't think people think of the vet as a partner,” said Barnes.
Dr. Douglas Kratt is president of the American Veterinary Medical Association in Schaumburg.
"If you have a pet and you come down with COVID, that you have a plan beforehand on who potentially can take care of your pet for you,” said Dr. Kratt.
Stephen and Nathan found a kind neighbor who cautiously took Thursten, who wouldn't use a puppy pad, for walks.
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"We had to tie his leash to our front door. So the dog walker would come and take him and when they were finished, he would text us,” said Kluth and Barnes.
Dr. Kratt says there have been less than 100 COVID-19 cases in dogs and cats, with the most common symptom being upper respiratory illness.
"There's been no, zero cases of COVID being transferred from the pet to the human."
Once you have a plan, rest assured, being in quarantine is so much better with a furry friend.
"If anything, they're probably helping us through this pandemic,” said Dr. Kratt.
Veterinarians also advise not to get up close and personal with your pets if you are experiencing COVID symptoms or have tested positive for the virus, to be on the safe side.