Hopefully you've already been practicing social distancing and staying six feet away from people you don't already live with, but now your pets need to practice it too. I've already refrained from asking to pet people's dogs if I do pass by them on walks...in fact I've usually been crossing the street or at least moving off of the sidewalk so I'm still keeping my distance too, but now I'm worried about my pups! Since my two dogs are pretty well trained we will sometimes leave them off leash in the back yard, and they've taken it upon themselves to run up and say hi to neighbors here and there so we may be having to restrict them more than normal because new guidelines from the CDC say pets should be distanced too.
There have been cases of both cats and dogs, as well as zoo animals, who have contracted the coronavirus and tested positive for COVID-19 so social distancing is important for pets too to keep them safe. This includes interacting with other animals, and if a person within the household becomes sick they should be isolated from all other people as well as pets. With the limited information it does appear that humans are at low risk of contracting the virus from animals, I still personally want to keep my pets safe. Click the link in the tweet below to read more from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and see the new guidelines HERE. (Oh, and scroll down to see pictures of my babies.)