We at Edgetown Veterinary Clinic and Laser Center are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our clients, our patients, and our staff. Given the fluidity of the situation, we are carefully monitoring the COVID-19 virus as well as all communications from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local health authorities.

As a hospital and laser surgery center, we have always maintained stringent cleaning and sanitation procedures. However, in these unprecedented times we realize the need to go even further to keep everyone safe and to prevent this virus from spreading. As such, we have enhanced our procedures to include the following, among many others:

-Increased frequency of cleaning and disinfecting in both public and surgical areas. This includes obvious "high touch" areas such as door knobs and seating, but also the less obvious such as the pens with which we write. We will do this after every use;

-We will have disposable gloves available to each of our clients as an added precaution;

-Increased signage to heighten awareness of the virus as well as to ensure employees are consistently exercising best practices for personal hygiene; and

-More intentional appointment scheduling to limit the number of clients in the lobby at one time.

In addition to the aforementioned measures, we are also offering curb-side pickup & delivery if you would prefer to avoid coming in altogether. Please just let us know when you schedule your appointment that you are requesting this service and call when you're parked outside.

Lastly, our employees have all volunteered to take their temperature prior to starting each shift. We couldn't be more proud of them as they exceed our expectations yet again.

What we ask of our clients to help keep you safe:

-Please limit the number of people to one (1) if you plan to be in the lobby for an appointment; and

-If you don't feel well, have a temperature, cough or upper respiratory infection, please reach out and reschedule.

We are all in this thing together, and we want to make sure we do our part to prevent this virus from spreading. Thank you for placing your trust in us.

Sincerely,

Dr. Vincent Gibney

A dog in Hong Kong tested “weakly” positive for novel coronavirus in February, but experts believe it was due to superficial contamination.

The CDC still recommends restricting contact with your dogs, cats, or other animals if you get sick with COVID-19 until we have more information.

Pet owners, breathe a sigh of relief: There’s currently no evidence that cats, dogs, or any other household pets can contract or spread novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has impacted hundreds of thousands of people worldwide via human-to-human transmission, according to the World Health Organization.

You may have heard back in February that a dog in Hong Kong tested “weakly” positive for novel coronavirus, per CNN. But many experts think the dog was only superficially contaminated, meaning the highly-sensitive tests picked up low levels of the virus in the animal—not enough to warrant the diagnosis of an active COVID-19 infection like those in people.

While it is believed that COVID-19 originated from an animal source, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that there is “no reason” to think that any animals or pets could be sources of new COVID-19 infections. The CDC also confirmed they have not received any reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19.

“There is no research to support human to animal spread,” says Shelley Rankin, Ph.D., a professor of clinical microbiology and head of diagnostic services in the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Dogs and cats can contract other types of coronavirus, though.

There are seven different coronavirus strains known to infect humans, and several others that can infect animals. Dogs can contract a strain of coronavirus known as canine enteric coronavirus, which can cause mild gastrointestinal illness, particularly in puppies.