FROM 30 NOVEMBER 2020 BIGISSUE.COM| 13
12 millionUK
households
have a petThereareninemillion
dogs in the UK23 percentof
householdshaveadog
(PetFoodManufacturers’
Association)fact/fiction. Old news, truthfully retold
FACTS. CHECKEDIntermsofprovingthatdogownersorwalkersfaceagreater
riskofcontractingthevirus,thisstudyisadog’sdinner.
Researchersconductedanonlinesurveyofmorethan2,
peopleinSpainbetweenAprilandMay withtheaimof finding
outwhichhygienehabits, activitiesandcharacteristicsmake
spreadingthevirusmorelikely.
Intotal,4.7percentsaidtheyhadcontractedCovid-19,
althoughthisreliedon participantsself-diagnosingin
manycases.
Thestudyfoundthat 23 percentofthosesurveyedhada
dogasapet–amountingto491people– and19.5percent
tookthedogfor awalkduringconfinement.Theresults
showedthatpeoplewhowalkedtheirpetshadahigher
estimatedprevalenceof Covid-19comparedtothosewho
didnottaketheirpetfor awalk(6.9percentversus4.2per
centrespectively).
However, whilethesmallsamplesizeisaproblem,abigger
issueisthatthisisan observationalstudy. Thatmeansthat
whileit canshowpatternsthatareuseful,it cannotshowthe
directcauseandeffectthatwouldcomewithmoretesting
andresearch.
So whileitmay betruethatdogwalkersaremorelikelyto
catch Covid-19, it cannot prove that walking dogs had anything
todowithcatchingthevirus–sononeedtostopwalking
Fidojustyet.
Andeventhoughtherehasbeenavery smallnumberof
reportsofdogsbeingdiagnosedwithCovid-19,thereisno
evidencethatdogshavepassedthevirusontoowners. The
study’sauthorsconcedethatmorestudiesareneededto
analysecross-infection betweenhumansanddogs.
And,infact,thefindingsmay beexplainedbydogowners
comingintocontactmorefrequentlywithothersduring
lockdown butthestudycannotprovethatpeoplecaughtthe
virusondogwalkseither. Thispointwas madeinaFullFact
factcheckaswellasGizmodo’s “Don’tWorry:DogWalkingIs
ProbablyNotGoingtoGiveYou Covid-19”.
Theriskremainslow ofcontractingthevirusfromdogs
and,infact,theyareevenbeingtrainedtosniffoutthe
virus–charityMedicalDetection Dogsran atestatLondon’s
Paddington stationinOctober.
Allinall,thisstudyisausefulstartingpointfordiscussing
how Covid-19isspread,butitshouldgiveyoulittlereasonto
worrythatyour petisgoingtoinfectyou.
You shouldbeextra vigilantinkeepingyourdogclean just
incase–butdon’tget too worried. That would be barking up
the wrong tree.Are dog owners at greater
risk of contracting Covid-19?
HOWITWASTOLD
Manydogownersmayconsiderthecompanyoftheir
caninecompanionstobeessentialduringtheCovid-
pandemic– especiallyiftheylivealone.
TheBigIssueknowsjusthowimportantthathuman-
animalbondistoourvendors,anditisundoubtedlytrue
for readerstoo. ButnewsreportsinNovembertelladifferent
story, suggestingthatman’s(or woman’s)bestfriendcould in
factbetheirworstfoe.
AstudyfromtheUniversityof GranadainSpain,
publishedinthejournalEnvironmentalResearch,highlighted
theheightenedriskofcontractingcoronavirusthatdog
ownersorthosewalkingdogsfaced.Andthestudyattracted
plentyof headlinesbothintheUKandabroad.
TheDailyMirrorran withtheheadline:“Coronavirus:Dog
ownersareathigherriskof Covid-19,studyclaims”while
othersoptedtogointomoredetail.
Metrooptedfor: “Dogwalkers‘are78%morelikelytocatch
coronavirus’”whileMailOnline’seffortread:“Dogowners
face78%higherriskofcatchingCovid-19andhomegrocery
deliveriesDOUBLEtherisk,studyfinds”.
Overseas, ABCNewsandtheNewYorkPostalsocovered
thestoryinasimilar vein.ABCwentwith:“Peoplewhowalk
theirdogsare78%morelikelytocontractCovid-19,new
studyfinds”whiletheNewYorkPost’sheadlineread:“Dog
ownerswhowalkpoochesathigherriskofcontracting
Covid-19:study”.
Butisthisnewscientific study of a high pedigree or a
Illustration:Miles Cole bit of^ a dog’s dinner?REPEATINGWORTHCanyou usethe
MagnaCartato get
outoflockdown?And
does being unpopular
atschoolleadtofuture
heartproblems? Read
allourFact/Fictions
onlineatbigissue.
com/tag/fact-fiction/