To evaluate the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in pets, 101 Enterococci culture isolates, as the indicator bacteria, were isolated from clinically healthy pet dogs in Xi’an, China and examined for antimicrobial resistance. Tetracycline resistance was found in all Enterococci isolates (100.0%), followed by erythromycin (89.1%), ciprofloxacin (56.4%), rifampicin (32.7%), gentamicin (26.7%), penicillin (22.7%) and ciprofloxacin (21.8%). Almost 95% strains were found with multiple drug resistance. Our data suggested that Enterococci were prevalent amongst pet dogs and resistant to various antimicrobials, indicating the potential risk to humans and the necessity to establish comprehensive antimicrobial resistance monitoring systems worldwide especially in China.

Key words: Antimicrobial resistance, Enterococci isolates, Pet dogs