Out-of-Date Rabies Vaccine Lands Dog in the Clink
Molly was minding her own business when the raccoon attacked her. The poor dog didn’t see it coming.
The sweet nine-year-old Yorkshire Terrier stepped out of her owner’s back door for her bedtime bathroom break. She rounded the corner. The owner heard a commotion, and the bloodied dog scampered back to the safety of the home. If her tail had been more than a stub, it certainly would have been between her legs. The incident lasted just a few seconds.
When I treated Molly I found several bite wounds on her face and muzzle. She also had three or four puncture wounds on her rear end. From her injuries, it appeared that she had run headlong into the raccoon. The raccoon savaged her face. The dog turned to run away, and was tagged a few times on her rump during the escape.
Fortunately, the injuries were not serious. But legal matters threw an additional wrench into the gears of the evening. After animal attacks I am required to determine the victim’s rabies vaccination status. I wish the owner had lied.
Molly lived the life of a homebody. She lived mostly indoors. The owner had decided to forego rabies vaccination for several years. Her vaccines were overdue.
Molly’s chances of contracting rabies during the encounter were basically nil. But San Mateo County law still dictates that pets with overdue rabies vaccines must be quarantined for six months after wild animal encounters. Five and one half months of the quarantine can take place at home. But the first 14 days must take place at the San Mateo animal shelter.
I’ve never been to that shelter. But I can’t imagine Molly is happy there. I feel bad for her–none of this was her fault.
Photo: “Bastique“.
You have questions. 
Has that law ever been challenged? Since the incubation period of rabies in pets is relatively short (say 15-30 days), the length of quarantine is simply insane. Also, to my knowledge, the incubation period for rabies in humans is only 60 days or less (many agree it is only 30-45, correct?), so with a prompt vaccine (which we assume will provide antibodies within 7-14 days), who’s really at risk? If the shelter quarantine lasts 14 days, the vaccine is valid, why the 6 months?
It’s a shame Molly has to suffer due to her owner’s negligence. There’s a reason for vaccines, even if it’s only to obey the law (and it’s usually for the dog’s safety, too). I hope she’ll be OK.
Our dog was up to date on all vax, had a run-in with a rabid bat (not bit that we know of though), had to get another rabies vax (was close to being due anyway) and STILL had to go through 6 wks of quarantine – entirely at our house though thankfully. I can’t imagine 6 months, which is what would’ve happened for us too if she hadn’t been up to date. Had I known about that, I would not have taken the bat to the county for testing! The county health guy even said not to do it next time unless one of us was bit, he hated ordering a quarantine too but had to follow the law.
A few important points to consider:
1. The incubation period of rabies is indeed 6 months, not 10-14 days. (The 10-day quarantines required after an animal bite to a human is a different thing altogether: it is to determine if a dog or cat-bitten HUMAN was exposed to rabies from said dog or cat. That’s because the virus can “hide” in the body for months while it migrates through tissues on its way to the brain and salivary glands, but once it gets to the salivary glands and becomes present in the animal’s saliva, the animal is always dead within 7 days….ALWAYS. An extra 3-days was added to the standard bite quarantine requirement as a safety precaution/buffer zone.)
2. Although rare in California, rabies is still seen in other states….hence the laws. People travel with their pets all the time. People also (illegally) keep and travel with pet skunks and raccoons, common carriers of rabies in many parts of the U.S. There is no rabies vaccination licensed for use in wild animals.
3. If this pet was several years past due on vaccination and was bitten by a rabid animal, it is going to get rabies even if it were vaccinated against rabies immediately afterward (which would be illegal anyway.) It lives with humans, in extremely close proximity. Humans almost never (literally “almost” never….only 1 or 2 documented cases out of tens of thousands) live after coming down with rabies, and the ones who have live with permanent neurological deficits. I wish every human in our country would be required to watch the film of the person dying of rabies that we watched many years ago in veterinary school. It was one of the most horrid things I’ve ever witnessed. There’s a REASON that potential exposure is not taken lightly.
4. Pets who live “mostly indoors” are not naturally immune to rabies. There was a case of a woman who reached down while reading (without looking) to pet her indoor-only cat that was rubbing against her leg, only to then find it was a wild animal who had gotten in. Positive for rabies. (Most rabies seen these days is the “dumb” type, which causes abnormally tame behavior, as opposed to the “Old Yeller” type which most people think of.) Rare? Certainly. But not worth the risk to a human. “Indoor-only” animals also oftentimes sneak out of homes and get into scuffles (like the scenario above.) I see it almost every day in my practice. “indoor-only” pets need rabies vaccinations, also. That’s why the law was written the way it is.
5. Having “lied” wouldn’t have prevented this scenario. DVMs are required to obtain DOCUMENTATION of prior rabies vaccination. We are not allowed to “take the owner’s word for it.”
6. I’m shocked that a member of our profession who chastises other things he deems to be breaches of ethics (even though he is often in the minority on those topics) would advocate such a highly unprofessional and unethical thing to do. No one has the right to take another human being’s life into one’s own hands. Again, we must VERIFY the rabies vaccination. We are not above the law. Suggesting lying about it is nothing but an irresponsible position. At least Dr. Barchus did do the right thing by reporting it to the authorities and allowing THEM to decide the proper measures to take. And blogging about it to increase client awareness is always a good thing.
7. Please keep your pet’s rabies vaccinations current, according to the laws in your state. PLEASE.
I would like to add:
The main reason that this once-common disease is now much more scarce than it was a mere 100 years ago is that the rabies vaccination laws WORK. In many countries, they must go on mass-dog-and-any-other-animal-they-see-roaming-the-streets shooting sprees in order to keep it somewhat in check.
Until we are rabies-free, however, we mustn’t cease the vaccination program that is working. We don’t want to go backwards.
My vets tend to disagree, Dr, Deb. Sorry, but in my state, it’s quite different, as are the laws for quarantine.
I didn’t read Dr. Barchas’ post to imply he actually wished the client had lied, I can’t speak for him, but I read that as a possible emotional response to a difficult situation. He obviously obtained knowledge of the vaccination history, and animal control would also have obtained knowledge and documentation. I’m sure Dr. Barchas also fully realizes the public health concern and rabies, you’re drilled on that on a constant basis.
[...] Animal attacks are a big reason it’s important to keep your pet rabies vaccines up to date. In some states, bitten pets that aren’t current on vaccines have to undergo a long quarantine process away from family. Read about a case of this happening at Dogster in the post Out-of-Date Rabies Vaccine Lands Dog in the Clink. [...]
“….to determine the victim’s rabies vaccination status. I wish the owner had lied.”
That’s what he said, lexispup. Not a good position to promote from a veterinarian, as many will read it, thinking they should lie if ever in a similar situation, with Dr. B condoning and even encouraging it. Anything a DVM says or writes is taken by many to be authoritative, so we must watch what we say (and how we say it) when offering professional information in a public forum, keeping our emotions and own personal opinions out of it. When it comes to matters of law and public health, it is also drilled into us to be very clear on the matter whenever educating the public on it.
Regardless of your personal veterinarians’ disagreement, it is not up to them. It is up to specialists in virology and public health. Like I said, the REASON rabies is now so uncommon in your area is solely because of past adherence to the laws as written to enforce the program of control and prevention. The virus is STILL out there lurking in the wildlife population, just waiting to rear its ugly head and associated devastation again. That is not a matter to ignore or take lightly. If the laws are changed now, expect it to undo all the progress that has been made. That’s because states are not countries with passports and border guards to control influx of animals across state lines. There is free travel between each and every one of them every single day. People travel with their pets. People move to new states and when they do, they generally bring their pets with them. What if a family from a rabies-endemic state fails to vaccinate their pets before moving in right next door to you in your “rabies-rare” state, brings rabies with them (since it can incubate for up to 6 months before symptoms develop), then one of them bites one of your pets…..or worse, your child? (Btw, this is why there are full 6-month quarantines required of mammalian pets entering rabies-free countries and Hawaii. Those countries succeeded in eradicating the dreaded disease by following exactly what our country is doing now, and don’t want to chance having to start all over again.)
While each state gives its own leeway on certain things (such as whether or not rabies vaccination of cats is required, how frequently to vaccinate dogs, etc.), they all follow the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control, upon which the individual state laws are based and which is updated every year. In it, you can read about proper vaccination and quarantine procedures as deemed appropriate by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV): the people who know the most about the disease and how best to control it. If you’d like to further educate yourself on the subject, go here: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5702a1.htm
The bottom line is, if you choose to not follow the law, be prepared to pay the consequences of that choice. In the case cited by Dr. Barchus, the little dog was failed by the owners who were supposed to protect it from all of this, which is what I find sad. Had they followed the law, the little dog would never be in this unfortunate predicament.
I fully realize that Hawaii is not a country, btw….but I threw it in b/c many people don’t realize that Hawaii is rabies-free. That second sentence was referring only to the countries of which I spoke.
Two years ago, I was walking at night in my back yard. I felt a movement under my right heel, a “fluttering”, and a noise. Leaping away, I looked down and saw a bat grimacing up at me. I had pinned its wing to the ground.
I ran into my house and literally began pouring alcohol on my calf and ankle. Not seeing any injury, I ran outside to try and capture the bat. It had vanished completely. Later I read that bats rarely, if ever, are on the ground unless they are sick or injured.
I have three dogs, all currently vaccinated. I, of course, was not. Despite the lack of puncture wounds, it was decided to proceed with a rabies series for myself, which is a lengthy story… quick summary, in Texas, at least, you don’t walk into a hospital and get shots. It must go through the State health department. Not a single health expert I talked to could lead me in the right direction. The majority were far more interested in the bat than my own health! It took two days, a dozen phone calls, a prescription, and $2,000, before I began treatment.
Death by rabies… no thanks. Rabies is a horrible, serious issue, frightening, and unfortunately not all that uncommon, and its transmission is not always obvious. Please, keep your pets vaccinated. The fact that my dogs were current was a comfort, because I could easily imagine them finding the sick bat in some brush and tangling with it.
There are more reasons to keep your pet up to date on its rabies vaccinations than just avoiding having your pet stay in quarantine. Even if your pet is a “homebody,” it helps to keep their rabies up to date in case you ever have to arrange pet transport for your pet. This can assure you will not run into delays when it comes time to travel.
Kurt, I am glad that you are okay. Bat exposure such as you experienced is not at all uncommon here in the southeastern U.S. You were very wise to quickly realize that a bat out during an abnormal time (especially on the ground) can be highly suggestive of rabies.
They probably told you this at the hospital (if not, they should have): if you ever receive a bite from an animal, do not use alcohol or peroxide on the wound. The good thing about rabies…the ONLY good thing…is that the virus itself is easily destroyed by plain old soap and water. Alcohol is not a good choice to deactivate it, and peroxide only pushes bacteria and viruses deeper into the wound by its effervescent (bubbling) action, which also damages your tissue on a cellular level which delays healing.
It is certainly reasonable to act on instinct rather than knowledge when in such a predicament, and hopefully you won’t have to rely on that information again anytime in the near future! It sounds like you acted with presence of mind to at least realize that you needed to get that bat captured somehow. So happy things turned out alright for you!
And I’m especially happy that you keep your dogs properly vaccinated….because their odds of encountering a rabid-suspect bat like you did is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy higher than it was for you. Had any of them been the one to be bitten, they can’t exactly come tell you that it was an abnormally-behaving bat that did it. But if you witnessed it, your (if unvaccinated) dog would either have to be euthanized or held in quarantine for 6 months. I think it sounds like you understand how important such laws (both the vaccine requirements as well as the quarantine laws) are to protect public safety!!!
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# Dr. Deb posted a comment on August 26th, 2009 at 9:49 pm Your comment is awaiting moderation.
I would encourage any doubters out there to read this recent news article:
Updated 08/06/2009 08:52 PM
At least 15 exposed to rabies
By: Tamara Lindstrom
http://news10now.com/?ArID=479189&RegionCookie=1045
(I find it interesting that this post was not released to the board on the day it was posted by me. Her it is 10 days later.)
# Dr. Deb posted a comment on August 26th, 2009 at 9:49 pm Your comment is awaiting moderation.
I would encourage any doubters out there to read this recent news article:
Updated 08/06/2009 08:52 PM
At least 15 exposed to rabies
By: Tamara Lindstrom
http://news10now.com/?ArID=479189&RegionCookie=1045
(I find it interesting that this post was not released to the board on the day it was posted by me. Here it is 10 days later.)
We had a pet “indoor” dog which did not get it’s rabies shots (you can call me ignorant at that time, which is around 15 years ago). I didn’t know the seriousness of having a dog which was not vaccinated, nor did my mom. Our loving dog managed to sneak out one day, and came into contact with some stray dogs. We didnt think much of it and still did not get it vaccinated. Some time later, she started getting very aggressive, attacked every one in our house and a few people who visited too and then we realized that there was something terribly wrong. We had to give our dog away each one of us who was exposed to her (6 of us) got anti-rabies shots. A few days later we got a call from the health dept. that she was diagnosed with rabies. Let me tell you guys, we dealt with a rabid dog and it’s the scariest thing ever.
PLEASE LISTEN TO DR.DEB, he seems to have the best advice. I came across this site, because after so many years I’ve finally gathered courage to get another dog and this time around- I AM NOT TAKING CHANCES.
One other thing, the country where I come from has NO, let me repeat, NO laws about rabies or dogs or anything of the sort. My mom’s presence of mind, saved all our lives.
SO USE YOUR COMMON SENSE.
Rabies vaccine lasts at least 7 years in most cases and often longer. But people are to be made an example of for not paying for the vaccine every year.