Our day-to-day lives has been impacted by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Some people have directly endured health hardships or know someone who has been sickened by or succumbed to COVID-19. Social distancing measures have created challenges in striving to maintain our personal and family’s health while also having an impact on our professional lives and nation’s economy.
As I spend my days working with clients in their Los Angeles-area homes as a concierge veterinarian, my professional and personal lives have definitely been impacted. Technically, every house call appointment holds risks that could directly affect my health and ability to practice.
As a result, I wear my personal protective equipment (PPE), including face mask, gloves, and eye goggles when interacting with clients and maintain an appropriate distance of 6 feet or more. Additionally, whereas I always would interact with my clients inside their homes or apartments, I’m now seeing more patients outside on their balconies, driveways, gardens, and porches.
It’s the new normal and I’m happy to take extra precautions to keep myself safe and parlay my clients concerns while striving to manage their pet’s health needs.
Owners also have concerns about pets being infected with and being able to transmit COVID-19. Fortunately, the likelihood of dogs being infected is extremely low as they don’t have receptors for the virus that permit infection. Yet, cats and people have similar receptors and there are reports of cats being infected by their human caretakers and showing clinical signs of respiratory tract abnormalities.
Want to learn more more about COVID-19 in pets? Check out this Hal Eisner feature on FOX11 Los Angeles via this link Many Pet Owners Still Concerned ABout Their Animals Contracting COVID-19
For full disclosure, FOX11 Los Angeles contacted me between my first and second appointments on this particular busy day and in needing to stick to a tight schedule, you’ll see me doing laser and acupuncture treatment on my Puggle patient Dugan while well-suited up in my PPE.
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Copyright of this article (2020) is owned by Dr. Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, and Certified Veterinary Journalist.