The Ethical Pet Professionals: Pandemic Pet Protocols

Photo courtesy of Marcy Fenell

This has been brewing in me all month long and I don’t know why I haven’t gone this route sooner, except to say that I truly believed that the authorities entrusted with enforcing the governor of Pennsylvania’s mandate, would actually do their job. After all, other states are stepping up to ensure that their citizens are safe from poor decisions, both personally as well as professionally. Unfortunately that has not been the case here in Pennsylvania. So while the ethical members of the pet profession in my home state (and some other states under the same mandate) have been shut down completely or mostly depending on their individual offerings, others are both blatantly or quietly violating the shutdown orders. In the state of Pennsylvania, in late March, the governor changed the orders from essential businesses being permitted to remain open, to life sustaining businesses only remaining open. The pet businesses that are currently considered life sustaining are veterinary offices and pet supply stores. That’s really pretty much it outside of some minor exceptions. Most pet supply stores, aside from large box stores, are offering curb service only, as it should be. Veterinary offices chose to advise clients to stick to necessary visits only, decreasing the exposure overall. They also implemented the policy that techs will come outside to cars to bring the pets inside, sans owner.  This is another very responsible decision in the face of a dangerous pandemic.

Facilities that typically offer multiple services, such as day care, boarding, training, grooming, pet supply sales, etc., were provided with a waiver that stipulated that some of these services such as day care and boarding were only permitted to be maintained/offered for front line workers. All other services should suspend immediately, outside of supply sales for those who offer such. But that’s not what is happening. They are either seriously misunderstanding their exceptions or they are willfully violating their exceptions. In some cases, it’s the former, in most cases, it’s the latter. And that’s both sad and frustrating to the rest of us.

Most ethical pet professionals called the governor’s hotline to get clarification on what is and isn’t allowable. With my own profession being training and behavior, I verified that portion first. Training is only permitted right now via virtual sessions. No outside sessions, no group sessions inside or outside, no in-home sessions, no having a client come to your facility and no board and train in your home or facility. I have spent hours on the phone multiple times to be sure that I had the mandate allowances correct. Since doing that, I have seen multiple trainers publicly violating the mandate, offering in-home services, as well as in facility appointments and taking in board and train dogs.

Next came verifying dog walkers and pet sitter allowances. This is not my forte but many of my friends are in this category and we are working together to get through this. We were all told that those services are also not permitted at all except when performed for front line workers, with one minor very distinct exception: if the client were able to bring the dog out to the street to hand over to the dog walker, then said dog walker is permitted to walk a dog belonging to someone other than a front line worker. The one thing that the health department jumped in to state specifically without being asked was that no group walks are permitted as well as dog parks not being permitted to be open. Just 2 says ago I was sent a picture of a dog walker walking 6 dogs in the city, while scrolling through his phone. Potential clients tell me that dog parks are still open.

Next came groomers as again, many groomer friends are also being ethical and wanting to make sure that they are following the guidelines. We were all told that groomers are only permitted to work on dogs in boarding of said facility that has a groomer on staff. So again, front line worker’s dogs only. No grooming outside dogs at all. This is the category that seems to be getting the most abuse and groomers are rightly upset and concerned. Other pet professionals such as trainers and pet sitters are now suddenly offering grooming services, ranging from nail trims to actual grooming washes and cuts. Some in their facilities and some in their own homes. Crossing professional boundaries is not only inappropriate and unethical, at the moment, it’s also illegal and a potential cross contamination situation. Professional licensed groomers are well trained. Would you ask your nail technician to cut your hair? Then why would you expect your pet sitter to groom your dog correctly?

What this has resulted in is an angry public directing their ire at those of us who are following the letter of the law, both because we don’t want the fines involved with violations but because we are using our critical thinking skills. If a contact tracing comes back to the pet industry, what do you think that will do to us as a profession? A billion dollar industry is already not taken seriously. We didn’t even warrant a category in the governor’s business listing. Therein lies the problem with enforcement. It doesn’t matter what we convey to the police in charge of enforcing the mandate, the fact that this information is not in writing makes the ethical members of our profession look like Karen the complainer, instead of the real professionals that we are.

Most of the violators have been reported to the state authorities by a group of concerned pet professionals. I know that in some cases, these businesses received a warning phone call. In other cases, nada. Some are using as their excuse, that an allowable activity is leaving your home to care for someone’s pet. That part of the mandate however, is for citizens, not businesses. And in many cases, the animal is the one leaving their home for another person’s home or place of business.

This kind of self-entitlement and disregard for rules affects all of us, both in the pet business as professionals but also as private citizens. When people choose to exempt themselves from well needed safety precautions, we can all suffer the consequences. So many people are asymptomatic of this dangerous virus yet still out there spreading their germs. Contact spread can certainly include from the coats of dogs who are handled by those outside of their home.

I realize that many of us are struggling, but the thing is, is that we ALL are struggling at the same time. No one person or business has the right to act more self entitled than anyone else. Some of us will be able to safely open sooner than others. We all have to accept that this truly beyond our control. This is a new world that only the responsible among us will be most equipped to stay safe and to keep our clients and customers safe.  Groomers will likely be deemed the first to safely open as by the very nature of their business, they are eliminating the threat by washing the animal they are grooming, while safely wearing gloves and masks. They can easily do their job without interacting with another human. Doggy day cares, by virtue of what they do, the most dangerous place for cross contamination right now. Same with boarding. The need for dog walking and pet sitting has been vastly reduced due to most people working from home. But those who are are servicing front line worker’s pets are in danger, no matter how much PPE they use, unless they go home in between clients and change. And that is unrealistic at best. Trainers have it a bit easier than everyone but groomers. We don’t usually handle our clients dogs much anyway. At least of us who use science based methods don’t. We train the humans, not the dogs. But those of us who work with stranger danger dogs regularly aren’t going to be able to resume that part of our business anytime soon as adding a mask to that equation isn’t going to be helpful to the dogs we are trying to help. I do believe that we will be able to safely resume outdoor sessions sometime soon, with appropriate safety precautions in place. But it remains to be seen what else we can resume. I personally will rely on science and the medical community, not the federal government’s fast tracking. As science based trainers and behavior consultants, I think that is the only responsible choice.

This quote was brought to my attention as very applicable to this situation. I wish that I could say that it was quoted from a well known philosopher of words. But alas, it’s from a TV show that I have never even heard of. That doesn’t make the quote any less profound so I share it here. “There are those that follow the rules without exception. There are those that break the rules to help others. There are those that break the rules to help themselves.” In this case, we have to look at the why. Sadly, the whys in the pandemic rule breaking are all helping themselves. Knowing this, choose your alliances wisely. (Quote from Precinct 19, Dr. Ben Warren to Robert Sullivan)

In conclusion, as a community of professionals who are proud of our high standards, the ethical members of the pet care profession urge you to seek out the highest standards when engaging one of us to assist with your beloved pets. Only then can you be assured that your pet will truly be treated as well as they should be. Make your pet care dollars count in the future. When pet businesses are permitted to reopen, choose the ethical ones who followed the rules. Stay safe and we will be here to assist you when it is safer to do so. Thanks for waiting for us. We appreciate it.