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It's rare, but some pet owners have contracted life-threatening infections from caring closely for their animals at the end of life, a report shows.
Comforting dying pets through their last days turned out to be dangerous for animal owners who wound up with life-threatening infections from the close contact, a new report finds.
A dog owner who licked honey from the dropper she used to feed her pooch, and two cat owners who cuddled and kissed their kitties for days were hospitalized with respiratory illnesses linked to common bacteria the pets harbor in their mouths.
The case studies, reported in the latest issue of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, highlight the rare hazards of animal intimacy in a country where nine in 10 owners regard pets as members of the family, says the study’s lead author.
“I suspect this happens more often than we know,” said Dr. Joseph Myers, chairman of the department of medicine at Summa Akron City Hospital in Akron, Ohio. “It’ll put it on the radar so that doctors will ask about it.”
Myers believes he’s the first to report cases of Pasteurella multocida infections associated with palliative care by owners of dying pets. It’s rare, of course, but it was striking to encounter three such incidents all within a year, he said.
Typically, P. multocida bacteria live in the mouths of 80 percent of cats and about 60 percent of dogs, Myers said. The bacteria lurk in the oral cavities of many wild and domesticated animals. They’re usually passed along through bites, scratches or other unfriendly behavior, and are the most common cause of skin infections from such animal-related injuries.
It's not clear exactly how many infections occur each year, though health experts at the University of California at Los Angeles note that only about 5 percent of dog bites and 30 percent of cat bites become infected.
The infections can occur through normal affectionate interaction with animals, the routine licking or kissing that some pets and owners can't resist, Myers said. Babies, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are most at risk because their immune systems can't fight infections as well.
In the cases of the three pet owners in the study, all women in their 50s or 60s, they were previously healthy, but Myers suspects that the sustained close contact simply increased their chances of infection.
The bacteria targeted their respiratory tracts, attacking one woman’s epiglottis, another’s uvula and the lungs of the third.
They showed up at hospital emergency rooms reporting fever, chills, sore and swollen throats and difficulty swallowing and breathing. Quick administration of antibiotics helped, and all three got better within days.
The tricky part was figuring out what caused the unusual bacterial infections. It took careful questioning on the part of doctors to determine that the transmission had come through such close pet care. The pet owners weren't available for interviews, but Myers' study offered details of how they likely became sick.
In the case of the dog, “the patient had co-consumed honey with the dog by licking the same dropper used to comfort-feed the dog,” the report said.
Another patient “continuously held, caressed, hugged and kissed her cat during the last seven days of its life.” The third “had provided palliative care to her dying cat by holding, hugging and kissing the head of the cat and allowing the cat to lick her hands and arms.”
That doesn’t surprise Anthony J. Smith, a veterinarian who runs Rainbow Bridge Vet Services, a pet hospice and palliative services business in Hercules, Calif.
In a country where two-thirds of households have pets and nine in 10 owners say they regard them as family members, according to a 2011 Harris poll, it makes sense to care for the animals at the end of life.
More pet owners -- Smith calls them “pet parents” -- are seeking to make their pets' deaths more comfortable and meaningful, even when they can’t prevent them.
“There’s a general increase in the closeness between people and their pets,” said Smith, who treated 1,000 pet clients in the past two years. “They’re wanting the same kind of services that they want for their human family members.”
Smith, who helped co-found the International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care, understands the urge to closely care for pets and he doesn’t want people to avoid physical contact with their animals. Still, he advises common sense.
“When you start licking your cat or dog or you start sharing utensils with your dog, you put yourself at risk for those things,” he said. “Those probably weren’t the best ideas from a human health perspective.”
Myers, the doctor who wrote the study, agreed. “I would not recommend that.”
But even Myers admitted the cases haven’t altered how he cares for his three dogs.
Would it have changed the behavior of the women who got sick?
“I don’t think so,” Myers said. “These pets are so ingrained into the family.”
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More shock journalism and playing to the germ phobic society we have become. Watch out pets - the clorox cleanup generation is heading your way. The only bit of logic in the article.... "rare hazards". You are more likely to get hit by a bus crossing the street. Give me a break.
And then we have the multitude of movies and TV shows that have children and adults kissing and allowing animals to lick their faces.
Even long ago when watching Lassie and Rin-Tin-Tin my Dad would shake his head and tell us never to allow our dog to lick us in the face to always wash our hands before eating when playing with our dog.
We didn't listen to a word he said about it... our dog was a member of the family and if Timmy and Rusty could allow it, so could we.
Just another story about lack of common sense. There is absolutely nothing wrong with cuddling a dying animal just don't exchange body fluids. This is only common sense. It would be equally and probably more true with human to human contact in such a situation. Common sense! The thing that is woefully lacking today.
It sounds like a slow news day to me. If you have to print a arttilce like this. I have grown up with dogs, nevr once did I get sick from any of them. I didn't mind their kisses when I would come home. I believe it was their way of showing how much they missed me. I wonder if those people who got sick, may have had some kind of health issues before. Did anyone bother to ask knowing what they know now, would they change anything? My guess is probably not.
There's a difference between pet-cuddling and stupidity......and stupidity always has a price.
Hehehehe...they wrote "hazards of animal intimacy." The 14-year old boy trapped inside my middle-aged female body finds this hilarious.
I dunno. After a half hour of french kissing my dog, we are both so exhausted we're not even thinking about infections
Richard: a dogs mouth is NOT cleaner than a human's - urban legend and I heard that from a vet (WebMD has a vetrinary section which is very informative) and re: the article, if you've any sense, you DO NOT lick the medicine dropper used for your sick pet. As for kissing an animal on the mouth - they lick their be-hinds fer cryin out loud - A little common sense is called for. As for sleeping in the bed, if the animal is clean (mine is) in the bed is ok, again from the vets at WebMD. And I will cuddle mine in his last hours, its the least I can do to comfort him as he passes over, as he gave both my husband and myself a great deal of joy.
Passes over to where??? The ground? Your pet is soulless, has no spirit, and will not go to Heaven or any pet palace in the sky, it's an animal and will be dirt and nothing else after it dies.
My pets are as much a part of my family as my wife or kids. When their time has come to die, I will be there with them to the very end. If my dying dog wants to lick my face, then so be it, I will deal with the consequences. There is NO way any member of my family will be dying without a lot of love and support, which includes hugs and kisses!
here here!
To each their own.
Recently, my wife cared for our siamese cat in its final days in such a way that I hope she remembers should I ever suffer. Our cat developed bone cancer in it's lower jaw and the jaw began to expand, eventually becoming so large that it was unable to eat and was having difficulty breathing when we took the final trip to the vet's office. The cat was well loved and cared for with such empathy and delicate consideration. I applaude my wife and her efforts to make our cat's final days filled with warmth and such nurturing attention. The little thing was purring up until the very last second of life.
True, it may be unwise to be so close the a pet, physically, when they are stricken with illness. But if you cannot be close to the things you love, what is the point of being close to anything or anyone, ever?
You sound like a wonderful husband and a decent human being. And your wife sounds like an angel. This is how it should be. Thank you for taking the time to explain to all of us how important compassion is for the dying.
ObeJuan:
True, it may be unwise to be so close the a pet, physically, when they are stricken with illness. But if you cannot be close to the things you love, what is the point of being close to anything or anyone, ever?
Truer words have never been spoken!
What did that little blurb say at the bottom of the article...482,524 people like MSNBC. They need to get a life. Now on to pets. Owners or caretakers should never get to intimate with their pet at anytime they all carry something that could be detrimental to human health. Love them and care for them yes, and be with them at the end it helps them to pass on and gives the owner closure.
I used to let my cat lovingly lick "kiss" my face. But then I started noticing small clumps of sand lodging between my teeth. I had to stop because my wife found it gross. Some people just don't understand human-pet intimacy, I guess.
I knew a chap that nearly lost his life making love to his favorite lamb- these things MUST be taken into consideration when seeking out the love that dare not speak its name. He now wears a lamb skin condom, which really, how different can the feel be? eh? EH? Better to be safe and sorry.
If he just let the lamb give him a blow job instead, there should be no problem.
Palliative care for dying animals might be considered overboard by some, and I'm sure there are those out there that take things too far. However, after the animal has passed the family still has to live on and how they feel about themselves for the treatment they gave that animal will be with them for the rest of their lives. I for one would not want to spend my life feeling guilty for how I treated one of my dogs when their time had come. I lost a dog last year and had to spend the last month of his life knowing that he was dying. This was a dog that came with me when I got divorced a decade ago, he was with me when my mother passed away, he was with with me when a fiance passed away. We went through several moves across a couple of states together and thousands of days with life's ups & downs. That dog knew when I was upset and was able to react appropriately to my feelings in order to comfort me. There's nothing I wouldn't have done for that dog & in his last days I did everything I could to provide him the comfort that he deserved. I can look back and have no feelings of guilt or regret about how he was treated, it's a shame that so many people out there can't say the same thing for how they treated & cared for their own family members in their time of need.
I have two new dogs now. Like all the others I've had in the past, they are welcome to sleep in the bed with me. They are often encouraged to finish cleaning off a dinner plate when I was unable to. They frequently lick my hands, knees, feet or whatever they happen to be able to get at. I usually discourage them from licking my face, just cause that's kinda gross, but it does occasionally happen. For a dog to lick a person is a perfectly natural thing. When you lick them back ... that's just messed up!!
I saw a few comments with people arguing over who has a cleaner mouth. Who cares! Every animal is going to have bacteria living in it's orifices. The problem is that what is "normal" in a dogs (or cats) mouth may be very abnormal for a human to get in theirs. Every species is going to have what is considered to be their "normal flora" which translates to what's supposed to be in there. Something that we have an abundance in our mouth might kill a perfectly healthy koala bear if they get it in theirs.
So, if the dogs gonna eat off your plate, wash the darn thing! I wouldn't eat off a spoon that my son used so I sure ain't gonna let my doggies take a bite out of my sandwich that I'm still eating.
Oh, honestly--what animal hater and alarmist put this one together? I suspect we are exposed to just as nasty and dangerous of germs on the grocery cart handle, on the pump at the gas station, at the daycare center, in the classroom, and in the waiting room at the doctor's office. Humans were not designed to live in sterile environments. Get over it that animals carry germs. What doesn't carry germs? Wash your hands before you eat and call it a day.
Stupid story. Always comfort the dying. But no, don't suck on the tear-dropper used to comfort them. Comforting my Nanookie as she died of cancer, wearing diapers, taking her last breaths in my lap was an HONOR. I would not trade it for anything.
marshall perry69: Well said. I have had the unfortunate experience of having to euthanize several pets, my own as well as those of my parents. Like you, I would have chosen to be no other place than holding a beloved pet as they slip away. Although the loss is tremendous the memories I have are priceless.
I will probably own pets until I am at the age where they will out live me. I have a papillion and a chocolate lab now and would not trade them for the world.
For pet lovers everywhere, please read The Rainbow Bridge @ petloss.com/rainbowbridge. It is a terrific poem.
Clearly this is a new Liberal tactic/ set up for them now coming after your pets and trying to control yet another aspct of your life.Liberals/Marxists want to control everything you do and make the Nazis of old Germany look mild in comparison.What a sick and mentally ill bunch.
don't go off the rails with a fabricated political angle buddy.
I had a dog with liver failure; I held her as our veterinarian gave her the injections that would end her life. I held her and sang an old German song that I always sang to her when she was a puppy and throughout her life. I held her until the end. I would do the same for any pet that I owned. If my pet has a contagious illness, (i.e., some respiratory infection) I would put on a mask and hold my pet until the end.
You wouldn't think humans would have to be cautioned about using the same precausationary steps to avoid bacteria with handling their pets as they would for handling humans when they are sick, but I guess they must think they are paper dolls, or that disease and bacteria in pets are safe for humans. Every day I'm learning more about humans that surprise me. When mothers are still picking their babies pacifers up from the dirty floors in dept. stores and sticking them back in their babies mouths, the never ending bacteria goes on....
I found that I had infected scratches and puss all over. the vet said to stop using the cat as a loofa in the shower.
I find dogs work much better. And if you were too tired to wipe your ass after the morning dump, they can help there too.
This kind of fear-mongering reporting makes me sick. Reminds me of something out of "V for Vendetta." A few people out of millions get sick from this? SO WHAT??!? More people die from lightning. What REALLY makes us sick is this obsession with over-cleanliness. Wash your hands twenty times a day, anti-bacterial this and that, don't touch your animals, et. NEWSFLASH: WE'RE PRIMATES. We evolved to be dirty and roll in mud with bugs. I'm not saying be filthy, but use some logic and reason instead of panicking every time one of these horrendously immoral, disgusting, needlessly-fear-inducing stories comes out. Our immune systems are like anything else in our body...if we don't give them exercise, they get weak. Never exposing yourself to a reasonable amount of germs is dangerous. I've been around animals my whole life, and not just dogs and cats but also exotics...lizards, snakes, rodents, etc. And I don't wash my hands every time I touch them. And I'm not afraid to kiss them right on the mouth. In fact, my doctor says that because of my lifetime exposure, I'm most likely immune to most strains of e-coli and salmonella. So stop giving credence to these stupid stories. Stop being afraid of everything and START BEING HUMAN!!!!
The BS never stops here at MSNBC.
Ewww.
Still using the old gun-shovel combo. Shoot, Scoop, and bury in the neighbors yard. If you got a big dog, just toss their favorite toy into the hole and help 'em down with your boot. Give them a little praise so their mind is right for eternity, then just don't miss.
What a garbage article. It's pretty clear as you read the article that it was sustained contact and unsanitary practices and NOT the fact that the pet was dying. Ridiculous, attention grabbing headline for nothing.
So comfort and cuddle your pets all you want. But don't share utensils with them...a another person either. Seriously, use common sense hygiene, that's it. Skip the alarmist headlines.