Can Letting Pets Sleep on the Bed Make You Sick?

A caller named Jenny tells Science Rules with Bill Nye that her eight-year-old dog, Ray, adopted the year before, and her kid, Rye, both end up on the bed, and that Ray sneezes, eats things he should not, and vomits. She asks whether she is picking up harmful germs. The answer on the show is no. People already share part of their microbiome with their dogs and cats. A sample of bacteria from her gut would match quite a few from the pets, because of face-licking and living together. If she is healthy now, the show says, there is nothing to worry about.