A therapy dog brings comfort to ER doctors on the frontlines

[hlthe2b]

10. Some correctons. Veterinary Medicine is consider part of health care & essential services.

Veterinarians CAN order gloves & masks but face the same shortages. Like physicians, dentists, ophthalmologists, and all health providers, they do not do elective surgery right now. However much of what veterinarians see is an emergency and they are continuing to do those surgical procedures and treat what might be serious zoonotic disease including leptospirosis emerging now in some areas (all requiring masks and gloves).

The lab is IDEXX, but yes as one of the world's largest veterinary reference labs it has tested thousands of submitted dog and cat specimens and found zero positive for COVID-19 on RT-PCR. That is significant.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213173454

As for the dog's hair, the dog's fur is undoubtedly cleaned regularly, but most important no HCW is treating touch any different than they would a contaminated surface. They will disinfect their hands and/or glove afterwards. The dog is there for trained HCW staff--not patients.