First, COVID-19 struck down the elderly by ravaging their respiratory systems. It was thought to have several points of origin from wet markets and horseshoe bats in China to civets and snakes in Southeast Asia to dromedary camels in the Middle East and Africa. Transmission was from wild-animal-to-human only.
However, the character of this virus and our fount of knowledge about it has morphed like an angry amoeba since the first case in the U.S. was reported last January. Afflicted people of all ages have experienced multi-organ failure, circulatory disease, loss of digits and limbs and neurological impairments.
On June 2nd, the human-to-companion-animal-barrier was breached.
Upon receiving a call from the New York City Department of Health, Robert Mahoney of Staten Island and his family were crestfallen to learn that he had likely transmitted COVID to their family dog.
Robert was not surprised. Buddy, the Mahoneys seven-year-old German Shepherd, developed labored breathing and had thick mucus in his nose last April — the same time Robert was in the throes of the virus.
Getting Buddy to a veterinarian was a challenge given office closures due to the pandemic and a family member’s positive diagnosis. Buddy’s symptoms gradually worsened. His weight sank and he became lethargic. Neither of the first two vets who finally agreed to see Buddy believed he had COVID. An ultrasound and x-rays revealed an enlarged spleen and liver; a cardiologist detected a heart murmur. Following courses of antibiotics, heart meds and steroids, doctors continued to express doubts about COVID.
Finally, the Mahoneys took Buddy to Bay Street Animal Hospital where he was tested. The result: positive. In the coming weeks, Buddy lost bladder control and had bloody urine. A follow-up test was negative but by this time, he could barely walk. The Mahoneys brought Buddy back to the vet about every two weeks during his rapid decline. They were bewildered that no one seemed to consider the long-term, debilitating effects of COVID on Buddy though he no longer carried the novel coronavirus.
Denial among vets and health department officials was a reflection of the dearth of knowledge and experience with the scientific basis of COVID in dogs. To complicate matters, the signs and symptoms Buddy exhibited were also consistent with lymphoma which was confirmed with a blood test the last time the Mohoneys took him to the vet on July 11. A necropsy following Buddy’s tragic death might have been revealing about how corona affected his body. Buddy’s treating vet reached out to the Department of Health. By the time they responded, Buddy had been cremated. In retrospect, the Mahoneys would have welcomed a necropsy had that offer been presented.
Answers would be welcomed at a time when families worldwide are wrestling with the effects of coronavirus and how it is transmitted. For buddy’s family, there are far more questions than answers: Did lymphoma increase his susceptibility to corona? Did corona accelerate his symptoms? Or, did these two disease processes collide in a perfect storm?
Buddy’s case is a compelling testament to the need for more research. While over four million people in the U.S. have COVID, only about two dozen pets do. It appears that pets contract from humans, but not the other way around. Pets exhibit mild symptoms and usually recover. In reality, little is known about how the virus affects the typical pet dog.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has an extensive toolkit on its website that includes a regularly-updated list of known symptoms in animals. However, specific case data is not currently available to the public or the broader research community. Data collection is also difficult because reporting of animal testing currently is not mandatory; per the CDC, there’s no evidence that animals play a significant role in the spread of the virus.
It is possible, though, that broader testing of pets could enable public health experts to say with more confidence that pets aren’t being infected on a broad scale (or playing a significant role in the spread of the virus). Widespread sharing of test information among state veterinarians would help professionals develop an epidemiological foothold as would creating an avenue for parents of afflicted pets to connect with researchers.
In the meantime, Buddy’s younger canine brother, Duke, mopes around the Mahoneys’ home, missing the sibling who lived up to his name. In an interview with National Geographic, Robert’s wife, Allison, recalled her vow to Buddy on his dying day: