# Neighbor has Covid. How dangerous to take in her dog? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 23, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298 "2021-01-23T17:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298/1 "2021-01-23T17:49:13Z")
My next door neighbor has tested positive for Covid. She lives alone with her dog. My wife or I walk her dog several times a week when she is at work and one of us is home. Heck I went into her house and walked her dog Tuesday, the day before she was diagnosed. The dog is friendly and shy. My neighbor is in her fifties and has asthma. She has been home since being diagnosed. She phoned this morning in a panic saying she thinks she is going to have to go to the hospital. What is the right thing to do? I say take the dog in if she is hospitalized. What else can we do? The dog is probably not carrying any Covid on him, right? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298/2 "2021-01-23T18:03:22Z")
We do not know all there is to know about this virus. Personally…I’d be wary of a pet ferret, maybe even a pet cat. A dog could act as a fomite, so I’d house the dog outdoors or in a garage foe a few hours, but then feel ok about housing the dog inside. Certainly safer than entering her home to feed/care for the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2021, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298/3 "2021-01-23T18:31:31Z")
Sounds like a good plan. My wife and I both work in the grocery business and encounter hundreds of folks every day. We are always masked up at work, and try our best to limit contacts elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298/4 "2021-01-24T15:21:10Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > What is the right thing to do? I say take the dog in if she is hospitalized. What else can we do? The dog is probably not carrying any Covid on him, right? I would think the biggest risk would be that the fur would have virus particles from droplets that landed on it or from places the dog was laying on and picked it up. Petting or touching the dog could transfer that virus to your hands and other surfaces. I would guess that washing the dog thoroughly outside before bringing it home would be sufficient to neutralize any of the virus. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298/5 "2021-01-24T15:30:41Z")
I don’t know the answer, but good on you for wanting to do the right thing for your neighbor and the dog. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298/6 "2021-01-24T15:50:57Z")
I know that cats and ferrets can carry covid-19. I thought dogs could, too. Do you have a garage warm enough to keep the dog safe? I don’t think I’d take it into my house, but I’d certainly try to care for the dog. Can dogs be tested? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298/7 "2021-01-24T16:03:06Z")
Right now her doctors talked to my neighbor, calmed her, and she is not going to the hospital at this time. She is currently well enough to take her dog outside to the bathroom so we will see how that goes day to day. We volunteered to take in her dog so she would not have to take him out, but that dog is Andrea’s only companion. Her husband left her last fall. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298/8 "2021-01-24T16:39:53Z")
The Mayo Clinic has this to say: [COVID-19 and pets: Can dogs and cats get COVID-19? - Mayo Clinic](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/expert-answers/can-pets-get-coronavirus/faq-20486391#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20limited%20available,%2C%20fur%20or%20hair). ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbor-has-covid-how-dangerous-to-take-in-her-dog/931298/9 "2021-01-24T16:56:57Z")
Good stuff madmonk28. Thank you.