Researchers have found that a dog that died earlier this year tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first case of the virus in a domestic animal in Connecticut.
Officials said they performed a postmortem examination after a three-month-old dog died suddenly in February and was brought to the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for a necropsy.
Investigators said the dog didn't have symptoms of COVID-19 before it died. After it was tested, they said they determined the dog had the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The dog's case marked the first positive SARS CoV-2 result reported by CVMDL.
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According to officials, the virus is capable of being transmitted from people to animals in some circumstances, but surveillance and research still needs to continue to determine which animals are susceptible to infection and the risks of animals transmitting it to people.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 100 domestic dogs and cats have tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.S., officials said.
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Glastonbury veterinarian Dr. Chip Beckett reminds Connecticut residents that these cases are few and far between.
In the cases discovered, it’s not pets infecting people, but people infecting pets.
Similar to the CDC, he said that if someone in your household gets sick with coronavirus isolate them from everyone in your house you live with, including your animals.
He said petting a dog, for example, isn’t something to be overly concerned with since that usually happens quickly and outside.
Beckett said, like we do with our human loved ones, watch out for pets feeling under the weather. Don’t go near animals when you feel sick.
And, if your pet doesn’t seem themselves, get them to a vet.
