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North Carolina dog tests positive for COVID-19, believed to be first US case

A Chapel Hill family's pug tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. Doctors believe it's the first known case in a dog in the United States.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A Chapel Hill family's dog has tested positive for coronavirus.

The family was involved in a study at Duke in which the mother, father and son tested positive for COVID-19. During this study, the family had their pets tested and found out their pug, Winston, had coronavirus.

Dr. Chris Woods, the principal investigator of the Duke study, said, "The virus that causes COVID-19 was detected," and he believes it's the first known positive case in a dog in the United States.

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The family's mother, Heather McLean, is a pediatrician at Duke. She said their dog was experiencing mild symptoms. 

“Pugs are a little unusual in that they cough and sneeze in a very strange way. So it almost seems like he was gagging, and there was one day when he didn’t want to eat his breakfast,” she said. 

Click here to read more from WRAL-TV.

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