Penalty for no rabies shot?
 

I just found out that the dog that attacked my Chesapeake Bay retriever 5 weeks ago wasn't current on rabies vaccine at the time.

Animal Control has been investigating and had the owner's name and knew that fact but didn't bother letting me know.

Does anyone know if there's any kind of law that the dog had to be quarantined or anything? I'm really angry that no one bothered to tell me until I asked specifically today.

From: http://www.epi.alaska.gov/id/rabies/...trolManual.pdf


Animals that are unvaccinated should be euthanized immediately.
o Animals that are currently vaccinated may be observed/confined for 45 days; however, if there is no way to reliably quarantine the animal or it shows any sign of illness, it should be euthanized immediately and may tested for rabies depending on the timing.

Thank you for that link! I've just started searching for information myself, and that gives me a huge head start.

That seems harsh for a dog-on-dog bite. I'll have to figure out if that's what it says. I'll look.

It appears to say that euthanization only if the dog was exposed to confirmed rabies.

Wow, I would be LIVID with animal control! :mad: That's unreal! Sounds like your animal control is about like ours here. :thumbdown

Yes, I skimmed through most of it. I believe they're more concerned with wildlife to dog, or dog to human bites. But I can't imagine that rabies in wildlife can always be confirmed.


I think here in Maryland, the biter is always quarantined for 10 days, either at home or the vet's if not currently vaccinated. And the bitee is given a Rabies booster asap. That does you no good though.

I didn't even think I had to ask the question initially. I figured they'd let me know. But they've been so slow on everything -- it's been 5 weeks and next to NOTHING has been done -- I decided they might have screwed up.

When I asked about rabies today, the officer said, "Oh yes, I remember checking. Eddie, Jillie and Lucy all had current rabies." Duh! They're my dogs. I knew that! I asked about the other dog, and she said, "It's current NOW." So I had to ask, was it current at the time of the attack? And she said, No.

Ugh.

Just so frustrating. I provided the name of the witness 2 days after the attack, and she still hasn't gotten a statement from him. She talked to him and he confirmed my story verbatim, but he hasn't returned the statement form and she hasn't gotten it. I told her I'd pick it up and deliver it to her.

Last week, I gave her a video that pretty much punched a hole in the guy's lies. He said we came out from behind a car and Lucy surprised his dog and provoked the attack. My video showed we were visible the entire time from 90 yards away.

Only SHE HASN'T LOOKED AT THE VIDEO! She said she meant to get to it.

I'm just so frustrated. I don't want to over her head just yet because she's no doubt terribly overworked. And I want her to classify this dog because I think it will make my court case easier.

I'd check out the owner of the biting dog... sounds like he may be 'connected' if you get my drift.

Worth checking, thanks. Something feels wrong about it. I initially thought it was an animal control dog, and they didn't want to classify one they deemed safe for adoption. But it would have been current on rabies if it happened in the last 3 years.

Maybe you should mention to her that YOU had contact with that dog's saliva because it was on your dog. THAT should have been reason enough for a quarantine!!

I would be finished with her and would go over her head. Overworked or not, if that dog was not up to date on rabies, you should have known about it.

Thanks. That's a good point.

It will vary by state. The dog should have been quarantined for a ten day minimum and euthanized if any neuro symptoms appeared during that time.

Thanks. I'm checking into it.

:thumbup::thumbup:

Mike, I am so frustrated for you. I don't care how overworked this woman may be. This is a serious matter of public safety, and this reckless jerk with the dog cost Lucy and you big time.

My father was a medical doctor in Iowa when I was growing up, and whenever a dog without an up-to-date rabies vaccination bit a human, its head was cut off and sent to a state lab for testing, end of story. I'm not sure what happened when it was a dog on dog attack.

Yeah that hat pstinard said for fl. Go higher up and get the result you deserve.

They quarantine for human bites and if there are signs in that period of time the animal is euthanized and the head sent for testing. . My concern though is that this pup seriously injured Lucy and there had to be saliva on her leg. SO sure Mike touched that and while not common, it is possible to contract rabies that way. All it takes is saliva and a scratch or other point of entry. PLUS she could have gotten it and here this animal control person ignores the fact that dog was unvaccinated. I would be telling the world about her!!

You wrote what I was thinking...have to go over her head. I also don't know if someone knows this guy in higher places and are doing him a favor. Bureaucracy is horrible to deal with...took a contractor to court and he knew the judge...guess who lost. I sure hope you get justice for Lucy and yourself.

Thinking the incidence of Rabies in Alaska may be very low? IDK. Still needs to be handled more seriously IMO.

Yes, it does. What good are laws if not enforced? IMO it is just asinine the way this has been dealt with or shall I say not dealt with.

It sounds like animal control is severely lacking. If they knew the other dog wasn't current on his rabies, they should have notified you right away. When Buster was attacked by another dog and it was nothing compared to Lucy's, my vet was going to call animal control if the other dog wasn't current on rabies. In fact he gave her a deadline to produce the shot records. This is crazy and you are staying so cool...I was jumping up and down and being a hot head everytime I had to contact the other owner...

How many cases in your area are there?
My hubby got bit trying to rescue a little dog here in California. The did a rabies test when they caught the dog. It was negative.
They said that there wasn't a positive test in almost 10 years...

I don't think rabies is prevalent in Alaska, although Googling shows one case last year for a dog not in my area. It can occur in wildlife, everything from foxes to squirrels.

Update: I spoke with animal control's PR person, who is a longtime acquaintance and I trust, and she said she checked with the enforcement supervisor. Per code, quarantine is only for dog, cat and ferret bite to human.

She said there has not been a case of rabies originating in Anchorage in over 50 years.

I feel a little better. Besides, quarantine is only for 10 days, and it's been 5 weeks. Now I just need some resolution to the case! I provided a witness statement. He agreed with my version of the attack 100 percent, but English is a second language and the writing was a little rough. Hopefully, it's enough along with all the other evidence I've given her.

It does not matter, Mike. You should have been notified. I still say poorly handled.

I agree. I'm biting my tongue for now and hoping things work out. It is moving ahead, just glacially slowly. I'm not sure I'll help if I go over her head, especially when legally she wasn't required to quarantine the other dog or even let me know. In retrospect, I should have asked.