The Dangers Of Dog Kissing

Your dog wants to kiss you, meaning he wants to lick your face. You don’t want to be cruel, but you also don’t want dog germs, or do you? To answer that question, the New York Times consults a few experts. Dr. Leni K. Kaplan, a lecturer of community practice service at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, warns Times’ readers that some of the millions of bacteria in doggie mouths can also thrive in humans, and many of them–clostridium, E. coli, salmonella and campylobacter, to name three, are really not good for humans. Kaplan isn’t worried about dog saliva on our skin, but when it gets in our noses or mouths, it could be problematic. Another expert, John Oxford, a professor of virology at Queen Mary University of London and an expert in microbiology, tells the Times that he would never let a dog lick his face, because dog muzzles are full of germs, including, yes, fecal material. Case closed.