The first dog in North Carolina confirmed with the coronavirus has died

The first dog confirmed to have the coronavirus in North Carolina has died, state officials said.

An investigation is ongoing into the dog’s health at the time it became sick and its cause of death, according to a press release.

“Right now, there’s not a definitive cause of death,” said Dr. Steve Marks, associate dean and director of veterinary medical services for the NC State University Veterinary Hospital, in an interview with The News & Observer.

But it’s the first confirmed instance of a dog testing positive for COVID-19, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. A previous report of an infected dog in North Carolina turned out to be false.

In this case, the dog showed signs of illness and was having trouble breathing on Aug. 3, said Mick Kulikowski, spokesman for NC State University. After the dog’s owner took it to the family veterinarian, the vet referred the dog to the NC State Veterinary Hospital in Raleigh.

The dog died of its “acute illness” within a few hours after arriving at the hospital, Marks said.

The dog was a male Newfoundland that was about 8 years old, Kulikowski said. The news release does not provide details about where the family and its dog lived.

The client told the vet school staff that a family member had tested positive for the coronavirus and then tested negative.

“It is always difficult when someone loses a pet for any reason,” Marks said in a statement expressing condolences to the dog’s family.

Autopsy results are still pending to show whether the dog died of something other than the coronavirus or if the infection caused its death. Samples were taken from the dog and sent to the National Veterinary Service Laboratories, which confirmed the positive result.

Other pets in the home will be evaluated, the release said.

The risk of pets passing the coronavirus to people is low, and there’s no evidence that dogs can infect other pets, state veterinarians said.

“Based on the information available, the risk of animals spreading the virus to people is considered to be low,” Dr. Carl Williams, state public health veterinarian, said in a statement.

This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 1:41 PM with the headline "The first dog in North Carolina confirmed with the coronavirus has died."