Can my dog get the coronavirus? 5 things you need to know now

As Americans across the country continue to practice social distancing and choose to self-quarantine in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, many are wondering: how will my pet be affected? Yahoo Lifestyle sat down with Dr. Lisa Lippman, founder of Vets in the City, to find out what pet owners need to know during the coronavirus outbreak. “The question I’m being asked most frequently is ‘Will my pet’s health be affected by the coronavirus?’” says Dr. Lippman. “The good news is that at this time there is no evidence to support that animals can become infected with the human coronavirus,” she says. “But things are changing rapidly and it’s really important to get your information from reputable sources,” she adds. Many pet owners are also concerned that their pet could be a carrier of the coronavirus, which Dr. Lippman says may not be unfounded. “Just as other surfaces or other things you come into contact with can carry the coronavirus it’s possible that the virus can live on our pets,” she explains. For example, if an infected person touches your pet the virus could live on their fur, possibly spreading to others who touch them. “Things that you can do to take action and keep everybody around them and your pet safe would be to bathe them more frequently, prevent them from kissing your face as much as we love them right now and wash your hands before and after you come into contact with them,” says Dr. Lippman. She adds that it might be best to ask others not to pet your dog until the outbreak ends. “It may seem a little rude at the time, but you’ll probably be thankful later,” she says. Being prepared is also important during the outbreak, and Dr. Lippman has some advice about stocking up in case there’s a situation where you’re unable to leave your home. “Have about a month of supplies on-hand,” she says. “That doesn’t mean buying the entire store, but stock up for about a month. That means a month’s worth of medication, a month’s worth of food for your pet and even having some new toys or puzzle toys—things keep them mentally and physically stimulated,” she adds. Dr. Lippman also emphasizes that while it’s still safe to walk your dog outside, people should continue to follow the rules of social distancing to minimize their risk of getting sick. Should your pet experience an emergency during the outbreak, Dr. Lippman says to check with your vet to make sure they’re still operating as usual, which most are at this time. “You can also see if your veterinarian does house calls like I do,” Dr. Lippman suggests. “That will limit your exposure and limit your pet’s exposure to anybody else, and you can continue to practice social distancing,” she adds. If you do have to bring your pet into your vet’s office for medical attention, Dr. Lippman reminds all owners to upfront with their vet about their own medical condition. “If you’re not feeling well, please let your veterinarian know ahead of time so that they don’t put anyone else in jeopardy,” she says.

Video Transcript

ZACK GUZMAN: Meantime, CNN is reporting that the White House is likely to ask Congress for another round of funding to help combat the coronavirus on top of the stimulus that now sits in front of the Senate, and it comes after President Trump's national-emergency declaration on Friday freed up $50 billion in federal resources to help contain the outbreak. Joining us now for more on this is former Congresswoman and Independent Women's Forum board member Nan Hayworth. Nan, it's good to see you again. When we talk about this, it's interesting because you think back to 2008 and the way that Republicans and Democrats were able to come together to put through some of the stimulus measures we were just talking about. But what do you think might be the political pressures on Congress and senators right now weighing this package and some of the fears on the Senate side? NAN HAYWORTH: Well, Zack, we have to look at the pressures that are both immediate-- you know, the immediate needs of a country faced with a pandemic. And it is indeed a very different situation and a different kind of crisis than an internal collapse within our financial system, but the ramifications remain severe because of the social distancing that is medically and epidemiologically very wise to do. So in times like this, Zack, on a short-term basis, timely, targeted, and time-limited measures are reasonable. And so the hope is that Democrats and Republicans can agree on appropriate amounts of aid that will not involve measures that then remain in perpetuity because that's usually where the stumbling blocks are. And now is not the time for folks who want to see the federal government intervene in more aspects of the-- you know, the actions and production of enterprise and commerce and markets-- ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah. NAN HAYWORTH: --to take this as the opportunity to create new long-term programs. That would be unwise. ZACK GUZMAN: Well, see-- yeah, that was the interesting thing too because I know you actually unseated the congressman from your district back when you were in Congress for his votes on TARP and the stimulus measures we saw back then. There was that big movement, the Tea Party movement, after a lot of that happened, but it seems like this wouldn't be as troublesome politically when you think about bailing out Wall Street and what's going on today when there's employees getting fired out there right now, cutbacks across the board, as well as a national emergency here. So what do you think about those pressures and why senators-- Republican senators specifically-- might be taking up so much time here in getting to their vote? NAN HAYWORTH: Well, I think they have to use all due speed. There's no question, Zack, because-- again, because of the ways in which we have to shut down huge swaths of the economy. You know, folks are going to find it-- even though I agree with Professor Economides, and thank goodness. You know, tax relief, deregulation, emphasis on domestic energy production and movement of manufacturing and supply chains for the US and friendly countries have all helped us have a much more robust footing. That's great. But people are going to start feeling the effects of this very quickly, and I think the Senate is going to move swiftly on this, Zack. I think people do loosen up the purse strings. And, you know, the Republican leadership in the Senate is willing to loosen up the purse strings. I think a payroll-tax holiday is going to be a very smart thing. We had that when I was in the House to address-- a continuing means of addressing the 2008 crisis, and I think we're going to see measures like that pretty expeditiously. AKIKO FUJITA: Nan, we're, of course, keeping our eye on the markets are also watching this through the lens of the 2020 presidential race. Certainly for all of us who watched that debate last night, surreal to not see an audience at the debate. We've seen the online betting giant Paddy Power saying that Joe Biden's odds to win the 2020 election has now surpassed President Trump's for the first time this morning. What do you think-- I know we're still March. We're still months away, but what do you think could be the impact here? NAN HAYWORTH: Well, I think short term for former Vice President Biden, it's not terribly surprising that people are entertaining the idea of having someone different at the helm. I think-- personally, I think it would be far wiser to consider that policy matters most out of all these considerations and policies that will grow the economy the most robustly. Particularly if you look at last night's debate in terms of domestic energy supply and generally protecting the nation, I do think that the upcoming 2020 election may very well become a contest between globalism and nationalism. When I see nationalism, I mean, you know, a healthy emphasis on strengthening this country, not on exclusion, necessarily. And I think if you look at it from that perspective, I think President Trump has a much stronger argument to make that he has been working to protect the integrity and strength of the United States and the American people based on the policies that he has promoted. And I think also in terms of his approach to the current crisis, if you look at the actions of this federal government, if you look at the actions of the incredible team that he has put together, he has received praise from quarters that ordinarily are not aligned with him. Rightly so because they have been making a lot of-- I mean, basically all the right moves. And let's credit him for following his instincts on travel restrictions from China in January. He-- ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah, that was-- NAN HAYWORTH: --should receive a-- ZACK GUZMAN: --one thing. NAN HAYWORTH: --lot of credit [INAUDIBLE]. ZACK GUZMAN: There's also a lot of concern still though about getting test kits out to the communities that need them most, and we're going to see if they can make some progress on that. But important to keep in mind-- NAN HAYWORTH: And they're-- making we're making rapid progress. One of our challenges, Zack, just quickly, is that we had the highest regulatory standards in the world, and that is why we haven't been able to just marshal in tests from all over the rest of the world. We have had to develop them domestically. ZACK GUZMAN: Yeah. NAN HAYWORTH: The president and his team have progressively removed barriers to doing that so they can work with industry and labs and academic centers, and we're going to see an exponential rise in those tests. ZACK GUZMAN: Well, hopefully that does happen because there have been some shortages out there for now. But for now, Congressman Nan Hayworth, thank you so much for joining us.