Overall, our study demonstrates solid experimental evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can infect dogs and be transmitted to others by direct contact, producing pathologic brain changes even without prominent signs. Pathologic changes in the lung and brain were observed in dogs of both groups, providing additional evidence of virus transmission. Of note, SARS-CoV-2 infection has been reported to cause long-term pathologic effects even after the virus is cleared from the main organs of the body (17). Our study provides evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infection can damage the brain as well as the lungs in dogs at early and later stages of infection, suggesting a high potential for a long-lasting COVID-19–like syndrome to develop in affected dogs.

We detected SARS-CoV-2 in secretions from the nasopharynx and oropharynx of dogs in both the infection and contact groups, albeit at a low percentage. Remarkably, we found that the viral titers were higher in the nasal and oral mucosa of dogs in the contact group than in those in the infection group. That finding could be attributed to the role of the nasal and oral cavities as routes of virus entry for the contact group, resulting in higher replication of the virus at these entry points (18). We observed that during the early stages of infection, dogs in the contact group exhibited more severe inflammatory responses in the trachea and bronchioles than did those in the infection group. Those findings are consistent with results of previous studies that have shown that contact transmission can result in higher levels of virus titers and lead to more rapid onset of pathologic changes in the upper respiratory tract (19,20).

Tl;dr covid gives dogs brain damage.

So, we’re almost assuredly giving our pets brain damage and long covid. Really gotta wonder what that’s doing to their long term health and lifespan. Is it not just people that are gonna start dropping dead years before their time?