Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Pet That Friendly Pooch

I'm a dog guy. Let's get that right upfront here. I love dogs. Oh, cats are OK, I don't have anything against cats. But deep down, I'm a dog person.

We've all been out on a walk on a nice spring or summer day, out there just enjoying the sunshine and a nice breeze (yes, from time to time in South Dakota the howling wind does settle into a gentle breeze). And here comes a friendly person with a friendly dog. Maybe a Lab. It could be a Corgi. Possibly a German Shepard. You ask if the dog is friendly. You betcha comes the reply. And you ask if you can pet that lovely canine. And the owner says...

NO! 

Now, it may be that the owner, that friendly face you saw coming down the trail, isn't grouchy. It could be that person just read up on the recommendation from the FDA. You see, in these, uh, current times we live in, it turns out that dogs could...operative word here is 'could'...catch the Coronavirus from a human. Maybe you.

Again, it's not 100% clear this could happen, but gee, don't we just need one more thing to be concerned about?

According to the article I bumped into on FOX35 Orlando, the FDA is saying it might be a good idea to keep dogs on leashes and out of dog parks, and to just keep that cat of yours at home (Isn't that where cats love to be anyway?).

So now we're supposed to social distance our dog, too. (Insert a long, loud, heavy sigh here). They don't say anything about if Fido can still drink out of the toilet.