The first dog to test positive for the coronavirus in the US died, National Geographic reported Wednesday.
The German shepherd, whose name was Buddy and lived with his owners in a house on Staten Island, New York, died on July 11, according to the magazine.
The National Veterinary Services Laboratories of the Department of Agriculture announced in early June the first confirmed case of a dog that contracted the virus in the United States, but details were not released.
Buddy started struggling to breathe in mid-April, just before his seventh birthday. It is also likely that he had lymphoma, a type of cancer, National Geographic reported, citing medical records provided by its owners and reviewed by two veterinarians who are not involved in treating the dog.
Buddy’s owners, the Mahoney family, told the news outlet that they are frustrated that health experts did not further investigate possible connections between COVID-19 and Buddy’s health problems.
They also described a confusing process, as fewer than 25 pets have been confirmed to have coronaviruses in the United States, while more than 4 million Americans have been infected.
“You tell people that your dog was positive and they look at you [as if you have] ten heads, “Allison Mahoney told National Geographic.”[Buddy] It was the love of our lives. … brought joy to everyone. I can not understand it.
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