SO upset!!! and ANGRY!!!! (ranting!!)

[BLowry]

Admin...not sure if this is where this should go...if not...please move to appropriate place....thank you!

I live in a very populated, nice neighborhood. My neighbors across the street have a 7 yr old Lab, Pepsi an new yorkie boy and 3 little girls ranging from 2 yrs to 9 yrs (skin girls). They have been having issues with skunks...They called animal control to take care of this issue as the girl does day care as well...Animal control never returned their calls. Wednesday morning a skunk got into their enclosed back porch off of their kitchen...the children were standing there watching it when it sprayed Pepsi and lunged for her!! The dog go scared and ran into her crate...the skunk followed and sprayed her again then proceeded to attack her!! They call animal control IMMEDIATELY and was told to call 911....they did....the officers followed the skunk into my back yard and shot it...they (of course) sent it out to test for rabies...came back positive!! They went to their home and told Pepsi's owners they would have to quarantine her away from their home because they have 3 little skin girls...It is going to cost them $35.00 A DAY for 6 MONTHS!! or put her down...well needless to say they are devastated!!They are a young couple with 3 little girls and don't have the money for this....MY issue with all of this is....If the D**N animal control had done their job in the first place this wouldn't have happened!!! What if their children had been outside playing and they were attacked!! The animal control officer told them she felt really bad and contacted the state to see if she could quarantine Pepsi on her property...she has 8 acres of land and a shed close to the house that she would be will to put the dog in for the 6 months....(free)only problem...they need chain link fencing and plywood to board up the windows...she said she would run electric out there for lights and a heater....I feel because of HER negligence with this matter she should put Pepsi in quarantine in the shelter and NOT charge this couple....She told them she went out on 2 other calls of skunks out during the day...picked them up and observed them only to find out there were NOT infected....She also said that because of the early snow storm we got then it got warm they were out looking for food....BULLCRAP!! The police officers that shot the skunk said HE didn't appear to be infected either....and he was! I am SO upset over this!! and feel bad for our neighbors and their young girls....They DON'T want their Pepsi destroyed but, don't have the money to quarantine her for 6 months....and to top it off!!!! they also handed them a $75.00 fine for not having a license....talk about adding insult to injury!!! If I had a place to put Pepsi I would quarantine her for them....
Sorry this is so long but, I am SO upset about our SO CALLED animal control!!

[chachi]

How sad for that family and how terrible
AC didnt do there job to prevent this

[myteddybear]

Does Pepsi still need to be quarantined if he was up to date on his rabies shots? If so then what is the point of having to have them every year?

I don't blame you for being angry! Absolutely rediculas, the way they handle things. Poor Pepsi, yet another baby suffering for someone else's negligence. Even if they could figure out how to afford it or were able to keep him home for that time in the shed, 6 months this poor dog will have to suffer something he doesn't understand.

Yikes! $6,300 or a life and suffering either way because someone didn't do their job.

[mky]

I can understand why you are so upset/angry; reading about it made me feel that way too. I wish I had some advice or a possible solution. It's sad to think that if ac had responded, this might have been prevented.

[yorkietalkjilly]

So a fortune or put your dog down to be sure it can't maybe get the disease some day and thus infect someone or something else? That doesn't sound right!!! She should check with one of the state's vet schools to see if they can help her somehow and check with the Health Department in the state capital to be sure the AC people have got it right. What an awful situation! I had no idea the incubation period was 6 mos.!!!

[Ellie May]

Sounds like this dog was not vaccinated for rabies? If not, the owners have learned a very hard and sad lesson. If yes, then I'm not sure why the 6 month quarantine would be necessary. I think there are ways around that. It's harder with kids in the house though.

[myteddybear]

It looks like maybe if your animal is up to date on vaccinations then it should only be 45 days.
___________
A dog who is up to date with his vaccinations and who has been bitten by a possibly rabid animal should also be given a rabies booster immediately and kept under observation for 45 days.

ASPCA | Rabies
___________

[Micah my love]

what a sad situation for the owners, and this precious little innocent pup that did nothing wrong

[mky]

I did some googling and from what I read, the 6 month quarantine is for unvaccinated dogs. I hope the dog was vaccinated and they just couldn't immediately show proof, so were told 6 months (to be changed to a shorter period of time upon proof of vaccination). If the dog hasn't been vaccinated; I don't even know what to say about that...

[BLowry]

Pepsi was vaccinated but needed her 3 yr vaccine in May...This is why she needs to be quarantined for 6 months...if she were updated she would have been quarantined for 4 months. The owner washed her several times because she was sprayed twice...he did NOT find any bite marks or scratches on her. this could have all been avoided if the AC officer had done her job....My next door neighbor also called them about the skunk is his yard 3 weeks ago....She (an officer) should have trapped the skunk and observed it for a few days to see if it was rabid....HOPEFULLY the state will let her quarantine Pepsi on her property..as I said she told the owners she feels bad and will do it for free...I feel she is feeling guilty for not doing her job when she was called the FIRST time about this.

[capt_noonie]

If the dog was only sprayed and not bitten, how would he have been infected with rabies?

I would also talk with a vet and a lawyer. If the AC officer is feeling guilty and knows shes at fault (why else would she try to waive the fees) then she needs to be held responsible. If it's her inadequacies at her job that caused the outcome of this, she needs to be reported.

[gidget529]

We have heard stories of ppl in our area having a poor response w AC. I'm not sure what legal obligation they have to answer calls.

[Ellie May]

Fluid from a rabid animal came in contact with another animal - possibly its mucous membranes. That is an extremely convincing argument for quarantine. I would not have that dog anywhere near kids.

I hope the owner has gotten medical attention including possible post exposure vaccinations. The fluid probably came in contact with skin. Owner is at some risk. He/she needs to talk to their doctor immediately if they haven't already.

As much as AC was at fault for not responding sooner, there are issues like this all over and they are probably short staffed too. Sounds like maybe the dog was out (even on a porch) without the owner. It was also not UTD on rabies vaccination. So it comes back on the owner. They broke the law by not vaccinating putting the dog and the family at higher risk of getting rabies. I'd feel bad for them, but at the same time IMO they were in the wrong equally as much as AC.

ETA: Observing won't allows do any good. Euthanized with head sent to lab is the only way to know.

[KazzyK810]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

It was also not UTD on rabies vaccination. So it comes back on the owner. They broke the law by not vaccinating putting the dog and the family at higher risk of getting rabies. I'd feel bad for them, but at the same time IMO they were in the wrong equally as much as AC.

I agree. Anytime our pets are out they could potentially be exposed to other unvaccinated animals, domestic or wild. It is our responsibility as owners to make sure our pets are vaccinated and licensed. It appears this family did neither & is now paying the price.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Our AC has had some cutbacks and is understaffed, as this one likely is, which may be one reason they are running behind. Our officers are extremely efficient and are extremely responsible but they are so short I feel sorry for them. Might be part of the problem in this case.

I can't imagine not getting a dog's shots at the time they are due and this is one of the reasons but isn't one of the arguments for not getting vaccines so much/often that there is very good protection against the diseases far longer than the vets are wanting to vaccinate? Won't that help Pepsi? If not and if that poor Lab gets that awful disease for lack of a shot from the spray, it would be so tragic. This is just so sad a story.