A little over a month ago, the news came that family pets were coming down with swine flu (H1N1). Cats and ferrets were catching swine flu from sick owners.
Now it looks like dogs are at risk for swine flu, too.
A thirteen year old dog in New York was diagnosed with swine flu this month. He was showing signs of having difficulty breathing, so his owner brought him to the vet’s office. Because the owner had recently recovered from swine flu, the veterinarian decided to have the dog tested. Two separate labs — including Iowa State University, where first the feline case of swine flu was tested — confirmed that the dog had swine flu.
The dog is recovering slowly from swine flu — his doctor says he’s getting back to his old self again. And that’s good news in my book!
More good news? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the American Veterinary Medical Association agree that swine flu generally doesn’t go from family pets to humans — only from humans to pets. So if your pet catches swine flu, he or she won’t pass it along to other family members who haven’t been sick.
Here are some tips to help prevent passing the swine flu along to your pets:
- Wash your hands. If you’re like me, you spend a lot of time touching your pets! Washing your hands before and after petting sessions can help protect you and your pets.
- If you are sick (or your pets are sick), try to stay apart. That’s not an easy task — our pets are often constant companions. But if you can isolate yourselves, you have a smaller chance of spreading the virus.
- Don’t use your pet as a hot water bottle. Sure, they’re warm, cuddly, and comforting. But if you’re sick and you snuggle up with your pet dog, cat, or ferret, you risk passing the swine flu on to them.
- Don’t bring your pets to a place where you know someone has swine flu. Heading for a New Year’s party, but the host has been sick? Leave the pets home, just to be safe.