Dogs and Coronavirus | San Antonio Vets & Pets

What about the dogs that tested positive for coronavirus in China? What about the one dog that died during coronavirus quarantine in China?

Let’s throw this out there, laboratory tests are not perfect. There, I said it.

Let’s discuss the dog who tested positive for coronavirus and then died. This is a super sad story, but ultimately it was ruled that the pet did NOT die from coronavirus, the 17 year old Pomeranian never showed any symptoms consistent with a coronavirus infection. The pet’s death was ruled due to cardiac, renal, age, and possibly the stress related to a quarantine and separation from a beloved family.

What about the German Shepherd Dog who tested positive for coronavirus? This pet did test positive on a couple of occasions but has never shown symptoms of coronavirus. This pet remains quarantined and will continue to be tested for coronavirus while the pet is quarantined. Perhaps there will be more updates to come on this.

What’s interesting with the German Shepherd Dog is that the housemate to this dog never tested positive. There are reports that the viral RNA found with this dog was not complete strands–which further supports this is not an infective form of the virus.

Should I vaccinate my dog for coronavirus? Our next blog in the series will discuss this question.