By Mike Pulfer
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Question: "One of my three kids recently brought home a cold from school which promptly affected our whole household EXCEPT for the family dog! Why don't family pets catch viruses which we humans can't seem to avoid? Or DO they catch them?"

Answer: Generally speaking, they do not, according to animal experts.

"There are some viruses that can cross over," from one species to another, says Dr. Dan Davis, a veterinarian at Grant's Lick Veterinary Hospital in Campbell County.

Among them are HIV, the virus that causes AIDS (which can be passed from monkeys to human beings), West Nile, passed by the deadly mosquito bite (horses to humans), and rabies (bats to humans).

But "most viruses are very, very species-specific," says Dr. Terri McCarty, a veterinarian at College Hill Pet Clinic, Finneytown.

No matter what theories parents might suggest.

"Sometimes, clients will bring in a dog with respiratory symptoms and say they assumed the dog caught something from the kids."

Not likely.

Dogs do, however, have their own bugs, and they can pass them around the way humans do.

(Our research shows they hardly ever wash their paws or cover their snouts when they sneeze.)

"Occasionally, we will see something going around ... the equivalent of a flu-like virus ... at a kennel or at the same general exercise area , where, all of a sudden, several dogs will come down with the same thing," Dr. McCarty says.

But "cats don't get dog viruses and vice versa."

"Most diseases are pretty much specific to one animal," said Dr. Davis. "They (viruses) have a certain set of conditions they need to live. And there are subtle differences that don't allow sicknesses to cross over to animals."

So kissing a terrier is still pretty safe.

If you have a stupid question, send it to Ask a Stupid Question, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati OH 45202; fax: 768-8330; e-mail mpulfer@enquirer.com.