Ebola is widely assumed to be a zoonotic disease. That is, it is assumed to be a disease that jumps occasionally from wild animals to humans. This is a safe assumption. Many “new” diseases do this.
We barely understand ebola’s interaction with humans. It may be a long time before we know how ebola interacts with household animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, finches, ferrets, chickens, hamsters etc.
In the case of the dog, possibly erring on the side of caution is prudent. Especially if it may help to save human lives.
