Pets as Staph carriers

Many studies have been done showing that dogs, cats, and horses can be colonized or infected with methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA).

Here are some definitions:
1. colonized- one carries the bacteria, but doesn't have any adverse effects from it. it just lives benignly usually in the nose or other mucosal surfaces
2. infected- the bacteria is causing adverse effects

MRSA is particularly dangerous because it is often resistant to multiple antibiotics and can be hard to treat. It is spread easily through hospitals and the community. And apparently, it can be spread via pets.

From what I've read, it looks like dogs and cats can pick up human strains of MRSA from their owners and either be colonized or infected. They can then pass the bacteria back to humans they contact (licking, petting, rubbing noses). What makes this particularly dangerous is that there are genes in bacteria that allow them to be resistant to different antibiotics. For example, the mecA gene makes Staph aureus resistant to methicillin. Well, these genes can be transferred from one bacteria to another. Dogs' natural flora includes Staph intermedius, which has been shown to have a high resistance to multiple drugs. And if dogs are harboring all these bacteria, they can breed MRSA strains that are resistant to multiple antibiotics, transfer them to humans, and make an infection that is very difficult to treat.

(There's no reference here because hopefully I'll be able to add the paper I'm working on as a reference when it's done :)