Welcome to Lavitt Animal Hospital

Serving Morton Grove and Surrounding Community

COVID-19 RESOURCES

During the COVID-19 (SARS CoV-2) epidemic, it is important to stay informed – the status of the epidemic is being updated regularly.  Below are some reliable resources to help keep you informed and as safe as possible during this epidemic:

  • Center for Disease Control (CDC) – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
    • This page gets updated daily at noon.  This is the best resource for overall information about the virus and the status at a national level.
  • Illinois Department of Public Health – https://www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19
    • This page is updated daily. This is the best resource for local information at the State level.  
  • State of Illinois Coronavirus Response – https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/
    • Also a great resource for local, State developments.  The Governor has typically had a daily briefing around 3:00pm with update(s). 

Symptoms Associated with COVID-19 in people (see CDC’s website):

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Shortness of Breath
  • Fatigue
  • Headache, muscle or body aches
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat, nasal congestion
  • Vomiting, Diarrhea

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PETS

Can Pet(s) be affected?

  • COVID-19 detection in pets has been very rare, and associated with close handling of owners who were infected with COVID-19.  Some of these cases, on further testing, found that results were more consistent with detection on the pet, rather than true infection.  There have been some artificially infected cats in a very small study that showed ability to pass this on to non-infected cats with whom they were kept in close contact.  Pets from whom COVID-19 was detected showed very mild to no symptoms.

How Can I Keep My Pet(s) Safe?

  • If a member of the household becomes infected with COVID-19, it is still recommended that non-infected member(s) of the household assume responsibility for pet care while those individual(s) are under quarantine.
  • Contingency plan!  Coordinate with member(s) of your community – family, friends, neighbors – to establish a contingency caretaker for your pet(s) if your entire household needed to be quarantined or hospitalized.

 

What Precaution(s) Should My Family Take?

  • The AVMA is still recommending practicing good hygiene and washing your hands before touching your face and/or preparing food after handling your pet.  This has been a long-standing recommendation and is not unique to the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e. you should already be doing this).

 

 

Should My Pet(s) Be Tested?

  • Although a test for pets was developed, routine testing of pets is not recommended.  Testing should only occur through coordination of the veterinarian with local, Federal and/or State public health officials.  Some of the criteria that would be considered include:
    • Has the pet been in direct contact with a person confirmed to have COVID-19?
    • Is the pet exhibiting symptom(s) associated with COVID-19?
    • Have all common causes for symptoms been ruled out?
  • If a pet were found to be positive for COVID-19, it is important to understand that – just like in people – there is no treatment.  Test results would be useful for quarantine guidance as well as further study of the disease, which is why it should only be done with coordination of public health departments. 
  • So far, in the rare cases of animals testing positive for COVID-19, they either exhibited no symptoms at all or exhibited mild upper-respiratory symptoms and recovered.

Can My Pet(s) Be Vaccinated?

  • Although there are other viruses within the “coronavirus” family that can affect dogs (CCoV) and cats (FCoV), vaccination against these viruses is not recommended.  Vaccination against these and other viruses in the coronavirus family do not provide protection against COVID-19.  There is no vaccine for COVID-19 in pets.  

My kitty had a surgical procedure with Dr. Erich Roush. He was very thorough during the pre-surgical consultation. And he called me, the very second her surgery was done, to follow up with me. I appreciated so much. Thank you, Dr. Roush, for taking such good care of my baby, Chloe.

AC, Facebook Review

This place is the best! Came for a second opinion before our dog had surgery on his ears. Dr. Roush was so caring and spent time reviewing other options- luckily we tried his way (meds) and all is fine now. Besides saving a ton of money we also didn't put our dog through surgery. I can't say enough about this place- I'm just so glad I found it! Highly recommend and the place has a cool vibe to it. Thank you Lavitt Animal Hospital!m know how much I appreciate them.

MK, Facebook Review

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