Dog suffers same coronavirus symptoms as owner after chewing her used tissues

Dog suffers same coronavirus symptoms as owner after chewing her used tissues
Mushka the Alaskan malamute developed the same symptoms as his owner (Picture: Mandy Hayes / SWNS)
A dog could be the first in Britain to have contracted coronavirus after it chewed its owner’s discarded tissues then developed symptoms. Owner Mandy Hayes, 60, was laid up in bed for weeks after falling ill with a sore throat, dry cough and lost sense of smell. She then caught her Alaskan malamute Mushka chewing on a used tissue left on her bedside table. Mandy was assured by online advice that the disease could not pass to pets, but two weeks later, ten-year-old Mushka developed the exact same symptoms – a continuous, dry cough and extreme breathlessness.
Terrified Mandy, from Gravesend, Kent, got a friend to take the dog to the vets, who dismissed the symptoms as kennel cough, then lung worm, she said.

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But the dog got worse, and he was rushed in for a CT scan which revealed excess fluid in his lungs, which can be a sign of advanced coronavirus.

Retired store manager Mandy rejected advice to put Mushka down and instead pressured vets into giving him steroids.

After six weeks, both Mandy and Mushka are finally on the mend.

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Dog suffers same coronavirus symptoms as owner after chewing her used tissues
Mandy caught Mushka chewing on a used tissue left on her bedside table (Picture: Mandy Hayes / SWNS)
Dog suffers same coronavirus symptoms as owner after chewing her used tissues
Mandy was told to put her pet dog down but she refused and urged vets to give him steroids (Picture: Mandy Hayes / SWNS)

Mandy hasn’t been able to get a test for her dog but she is even more convinced he had the disease after it emerged a pet cat in the UK had tested positive .

She said: ‘I know he had it. We nearly lost him. When the CT scan revealed lungs full of fluid I asked can he have caught it from me, but the vet said “no”.

‘At that time, the American Kennel Club had on their website that dogs, cats should be sent away to be looked after, if someone had virus in household.
The UK Kennel Club statement was “no known cases”. This has made me very angry. I know my dog had it.

‘I have video clips of him when he was suffering, showing him coughing, and very unwell.

‘More pet owners need to be made aware of the fact that it is being proven cats and dogs can contract coronavirus from humans.’

Dog suffers same coronavirus symptoms as owner after chewing her used tissues
Mushka developed a continuous, dry cough and extreme breathlessness (Picture: Mandy Hayes / SWNS)

The UK’s first confirmed animal infected with Covid-19 has been recorded in a pet cat.

Mandy, who has two children and six grandkids, added: ‘Throughout the whole pandemic this was waved off by experts as pet owners just being pedantic and overly worried about their pets.

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‘I know many families who went with the advice of veterinary experts and had their beloved pets put down when there were other options.

‘In America pet owners were informed that the safest thing to do was to re home their pets if they contracted the virus to prevent any chance of them getting ill.

‘But we weren’t informed of anything like that here in the UK. We were just told it was extremely unlikely and not to worry.

A cat (not pictured) became the first animal in the UK confirmed to have coronavirus
A cat (not pictured) became the first animal in the UK confirmed to have coronavirus (Picture: Getty)

‘I think pet owners should know the real reason why their cherished companions aren’t here with them now, at a time when they are needed most.

‘The government should accept that they were too slow in releasing this critical life saving information to the public.’

A statement on the Kennel Club website said there is ‘no evidence that dogs’ health is impacted by COVID-19′. It added: ‘If your dog is unwell then it is very unlikely that COVID-19 is the cause of their illness, but it is still important that you contact your vet to find out what is causing their illness.’

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