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A BIG DEAL FOR PET, LIVESTOCK TELEHEALTH "This is a big deal,” says Lori Teller at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Services, where she is a

clinical associate professor of telehealth. “My in-box has been exploding for the past 10 days,” she says, as vets reach out with questions about telemedicine. "There's been a huge

surge in demand to learn how to better incorporate telemedicine in the workflow,” Teller adds, “and to use third-party platforms to capture (case) notes, especially while social

distancing." Before the pandemic, many vets had been informally practicing telemedicine by taking after-hours calls and receiving emails, texts and communication via Facebook Messenger,

she says. She prefers taking a more systematic approach using a formal telehealth platform. That way medical records are kept in one place to promote continuity of care of an animal. A

late-night call to your vet might not necessarily be entered into the pet's medical record the next day, or at even all, she says. PETS AND THE CORONAVIRUS Teller and her

physician-husband have two yellow Labs, Gracie, almost 4 years old, and Tucker, almost 8. The matriarch of the fur family is Maggie, a domestic shorthair cat, who turns 19 years old on April

1. As to whether people can contract coronavirus by petting their dog or another's dog, she says: “With everything that we know about coronavirus, the risk of transmission between pets

and people is extremely low.” Still, after petting any animal a person should practice good hygiene and wash their hands, Teller notes. "If you're healthy and the pet is healthy,

snuggle away,” she advises. “If you are ill, the CDC recommends that someone else in the household care for your pet." The CDC, which stands for the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, says there is no evidence at this time that pets can spread COVID-19.