Excerpt: Many of us share just about everything with our pets.

After all, theyare part of our families. We share our home, our food, even part of our couch.

While we are taught early in life that sharing is good, there are definitely some things that we don't want to share with our pets and one of these is disease.

Diseases that can be transferred between humans and pets are called zoonotic diseases.

Dr. Mark Stickney, Director of General Surgery Services at Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, explains how these diseases can be transferred and how they can be prevented.

"The good news is that if you are sick you are almost certainly not going to give it to your pet," reassures Stickney. "The only real exception is that it is possible to spread the flu virus from people to ferrets."

On the other hand, Stickney notes that it is much more common for humans to catch diseases and/or illnesses from our pets....