Letter from Gerry Welch

Dog Mouths Are Unclean

I have been witnessing ads for St. Jude’s Hospital showing children patients being licked on the mouth by dogs. To the trained eye, this is nothing short of child abuse. These children should be protected from pathogens associated with dog saliva.

Dog expert Marty Becker said about dog saliva: “All you have to do is look, watch, smell and you will realize that is not true that dog saliva is harmless. They raid the garbage can. You know we give each other a peck on the cheek when we say hello; they give each other a peck on the rear end.”

John Oxford, professor of virology and bacteriology at Queen Mary University in London, explained how dogs get bacteria in the first place. “It is not just what is carried in their saliva. Dogs spend half their life with their noses in nasty corners or hovering over droppings so their muzzles are full of bacteria, viruses and germs of all sorts.” Professor Oxford goes on to say, “There are numerous potential diseases that can result.” I say shame on St. Jude for not protecting these children and educating their clients about these sources of pathogens!

Gerry Welch
Cooperstown