You can’t turn on your television, visit your preferred social media platform, open a newspaper, or tune in your radio without hearing about COVID-19. We at the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic want to address three facets of this topic.
First, there is no evidence to suggest that our animals can acquire COVID-19 from us, nor is there evidence to suggest that we can acquire COVID-19 from one of our animals. All of the data to this point suggests the present situation is limited to human involvement only.
Second, the CFVC doctors have been monitoring the situation, observing both popular media outlets and digesting scientific resources such as the Centers for Disease Control’s constantly updating website. We have witnessed panic in local stores, we’ve seen the responses from area public and private schools, and have read statements from businesses as small as neighborhood daycares and as large as professional sports franchises.
Dr. Jenn urges you to inform yourself by visiting cdc.gov and taking the time to read through their variety of pages and sections. They’ve offered a wealth of sound, reliable information. Your time will be well-spent on their site. If you don’t want to read all of the CDC’s content, please at least visit their Summary page.
Dr. Brenda urges you to be responsible as you plan for the coming weeks and months. Just as individuals may keep a supply of essentials for those times where a tornado blows through or the power goes out, now is certainly a good time to be forward thinking. Contributing to panic and hysteria by purchasing all of a particular store’s stock of a particular item is not advised. Aiding our senior family members and neighbors by running errands for them in an effort to prevent them from unnecessary contact is nothing short of an act of compassion, as well.
Dr. Ryan urges you to refrain from panicking. Our community doesn’t have much experience dealing with such an event, but remaining calm, working together, extending patience toward those around us, and engaging in responsible behavior will go a long way as we weather this storm.
Third, we have always been on the forefront of presenting a clean, healthy, safe environment for our patients and clients. Going back to our founder, Dr. Gates’ specifications, CFVC has been ready for times like this with our cleaning and sanitation protocols. We have no intention of closing our doors. We will remain open to serve our clients and meet the preventive, chronic and urgent health care needs of our patients. We ask you, our clients, to practice responsibility for your own health as you engage with us and the public we serve under our roof by rescheduling your appointment if you are ill, or send your pet, our patient, with an able friend or family member.
In summary, while it’s tempting to hang on every word of the 24-hours news cycle’s television channel of your choice, you’ll inform yourself to a greater degree and have a greater degree of confidence by choosing your sources wisely (have we mentioned cdc.gov enough yet?). During these tense times, do your part to be a good neighbor, a good customer, a good friend to those around you. We’ll get through this just as we’ve persevered through other challenges before us.
