Spring has arrived, bringing RABIES with it. Oh, and it's HEARTWORM season too!
If our government officials had their brains screwed in straight, you'd be able to walk any dog or cat in and get a free or near free rabies shot at some public facility from 6 AM to 9 PM, 7 days a week without ever giving a name or any other information than "this animal needs a rabies shot"; they'd at least contract for the purchase of rabies vaccine in enormous quantity at discount and mandate that veterinarians charge no more than $5 above that price for a walk in for rabies shot alone. Better yet, they could stock those vaccines at (oh, my, GASP) feed stores and let the public buy it at cost. Seriously, do we want to get rid of rabies or not? What exactly do they think we're going to do with that rabies vaccine purchased at the feed store other than administer it to animals? What, pray tell, is the real risk? That we might seriously cut down on the incidence of rabies or even eradicate it?
Come ON! There's even an oral vaccine. They drop packets of it ALL over the state of Texas. Seriously, if it's safe enough for the wildlife (and we know how many would be screaming bloody murder if it weren't reasonably safe), then why the hell can't I pick up an oral packet of rabies vaccine for my DOG at the freaking corner store or even a vial of the shot with instructions from their frig????
Ditto for ivermectin (and probably most, if not all, of the other heartworm pesticides and very probably all of the other oral pesticides for animals). Seriously, it's a "prescription" solely because it says "dog" on the package?? Yeah, yeah, I've seen that thing on some horse ivermectin packages that says the ivermectin is "specially formulated" blah, blah, blah so isn't safe for animals other than horses. But the thing is that those items are ALL regulated and you can go look them up on the US government websites. "Specially formulated" my ASS; well, a few are so read the ingredients carefully (and I suspect the numbers of these will grow as the veterinarians push to up their profit margin on these as flea spot ons go "non-veterinarian"). And I know enough horse owners to know the manufacturers would be in a much bigger world of hurt if they mucked up a batch of ivermectin for horses than if they screwed up a batch for cats and dogs. The horse owners would LYNCH them. If we'd seriously pushed ivermectin for dogs year round and EARLY on, we could have eradicated heartworms. I suspect we still could except that now the veterinarians insist on being the gatekeepers to the drug; meaning there's a much higher price for regular visits, special packaging and MUCH higher price for the ivermectin... Blah, blah. I am so sick of all the piling on for each party that has to make a profit along the chain of commerce. It seems more and more like a pyramid scheme every day with animal care products!!!
You animal rights activists want to improve the health of dogs, cats, AND wildlife? Help us eradicate rabies and heartworms by getting the drugs/pesticides/etc. more readily available to all at CHEAP prices for starters!
Well, anyway, Spring has arrived in Texas and here come the rabies reports.
Rabid skunk in dog house, puppy bitten. Fortunately, a bite by a rabid animal is no longer an instant death sentence even for a dog. "The normal procedure for the exposure of a domestic animal to high-risk wildlife, such as a skunk, is to ship the wild animal to Austin for rabies testing. When a pet comes into contact with what may be a rabid animal, the pet’s owners have several options. The first is to release the pet to the city for euthanasia and rabies testing. The second option is to isolate the pet for 45 days if the dog is current on the rabies vaccination or 90 days if the animal is not current on the vaccination. In the 45-day scenario, the pet is given a booster shot. If there are any changes in the pet’s normal behavior during that 45-day period, the owner must call the pet’s veterinarian to have the animal euthanized and sent to the Texas Department of State Health Services for rabies testing. In the 90-day scenario, the pet receives three booster shots. The requirements for euthanasia and rabies testing are the same." You can bet that ain't cheap!!!
Well, I'm strongly against over vaccinating but I'm also STRONGLY against rabies. So make a donation to the Rabies Challenge Fund (there's a donor matching gifts this month) and we may all be able to vaccinate less and protect more. In the meantime, VACCINATE your dogs and cats for rabies AT LEAST ONCE (and offer to take your neighbor's dog along, maybe you can talk your vet into a 2-fer discount of some kind). And now back to the Texas Rabies Reports...
Rapid bats confirmed: "Health officials have some cause for concern now that three rabies outbreaks were confirmed last month in South Texas." (Every year! We gotta find some way to deal with these sooner or later and clearly those wildlife baits are cutting it with the bats.)
"A rabid dog has been reported in Smith County. On Tuesday, March 23, 2010..."
Well, OK, so far in 2010, we've had AT LEAST 3 dogs, 2 horses, and a cat along with too many bats and skunks for me to count have tested positive for rabies. COME ON! Make sure those oral packets are safe for all animals and start passing them out on freeway corners!!! Jeez, no dots in my county so far but I'd like some baits to toss into the vacant lots around here; at least it would get SOMETHING to all the dogs running the neighborhood! Good grief, get the price of ivermectin down and I'll be happy to offer that to my neighbors cheap or free too!
And here's the icing on the cake. It isn't bad enough that we can't get the animals owned by poor people in rural areas vaccinated for rabies, let alone given heartworm meds, we've also got cities/counties making it harder and harder to own a pet so more and more of them are running at large, having been "released" by owners to fend for themselves because you can't even just drop off an animal at animal control or a shelter (they all say no/full up OR charge fees just to take the animal). This is a direct side effect of doing "no kill" WRONG combined with the pissy, snarky in fighting and politics in rescue (get over yourselves, work it out, get dirty and help the ANIMALS instead of pissing on each other and the rest of us). Welcome to our growing ass-backwards mentality toward pets in a world where we're now even trying to outlaw barking at any time for any reason. So, I end with this from RPOA's (JOIN TODAY) latest newsletter about rabies in hopes that those in San Antonio and across Texas will join together so we can push back before they start outlawing barking here too:
TX-RPOA E-News
>From RPOA Texas Outreach and
Responsible Pet
Owners Alliance
"Animal welfare, not animal 'rights'
and, yes,
there is a difference."
Permission granted to crosspost.
April
11, 2009
Dog Rabies Case in San Antonio's Stone Oak area
San
Antonio Animal Care Services no longer picks up loose dogs and cats,
accepts
few animals at the Facility and doesn't loan out dog and cat traps
anymore
in an attempt to become "No Kill" by 2012. Animals are being dumped
in
droves due to the San Antonio onerous animal ordinance and the economy.
Packs of dogs roam the streets biting, spreading disease and
terrorizing
neighborhoods. RPOA has warned city officials that it's
only a matter of
time before there's a major Rabies outbreak and/or
a fatality from the packs
of loose dogs.
...............................................................
Rabies
Cases by Counties per Texas Department of Health Services for 2009
(latest
available statistics)
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/disease/rabies/cases/statistics/reports/2009.pdf
.....................................................................
News
release from San Antonio Animal Care Services
Date: 2010-04-10
Residents
Advised to Vaccinate Pets for Rabies
Local case of rabies in a
domestic animal confirmed in North Central S.A.
The City of San
Antonio's Animal Care Services Department and Metro Health
have
confirmed a case of non-human rabies in a domestic animal in Bexar
County.
It is the third such case in the county since 2005.
The case
involves a family-owned dog that bit the homeowner's two year old
son
in early April. The incident occurred at the family's north central
area
home. The animal was later relinquished to ACS to be tested for
rabies and
lab results from Metro Health confirmed the dog did have
the virus.
City Animal Care and health officials stress the
importance of residents
getting pets vaccinated for rabies. "Regular
vaccinations are the only way
to protect your pet from rabies and
provide your family some barrier against
the virus," says Animal Care
Services Director Gary Hendel. "Rabies is a
deadly disease but it's
a preventable one."
Rabies is a potentially fatal viral disease
that is spread by contact with
infected saliva or neural tissue,
primarily through a bite but in certain
rare cases through non-bite
exposures like abrasions or scratches. The virus
infects the central
nervous system, eventually causing death in nearly all
cases if not
treated with the rabies vaccine.The Centers for Disease Control
and
Prevention describes the initial signs of rabies as flu-like
symptoms--fever,
general malaise or headache. These
symptoms can last for several
days and eventually progress to symptoms of
anxiety, confusion, and
agitation, progressing to delirium, abnormal
behavior,
hallucinations and insomnia. According to a Journal of the
American
Veterinary Medical Association study, more than 90% of all rabies
cases
in the United States are in wildlife, making rabies in domestic
animals
rare.
In addition to being required by City ordinance, all dogs
and cats in the
City of San Antonio must have a current rabies
vaccination per State law.
Animal Care Services will be hosting a
series of low- cost shot clinics
throughout the months of April, May
and June at the following locations:
Eastside Boys and Girls
Club
3502 Martin Luther King Drive
April 21, May 5, May 19 and
June 2
Animal Care Services
4710 State Highway 151 (off Old
Hwy 90)
April 12, April 14, April 26, April 28
May 10, May 12,
May24, May 26
June 7, June 9, June 21 and June 23
Clinics are
scheduled from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and all pets should be leashed
or in
a carrier.
....................................................................
>From
KABB Fox-TV SA
Dog Tests Positive for Rabies in Bexar County
The
first case of rabies this year in a dog is now confirmed in Bexar
County.
Animal Care Services director Gary Hendel said the dog bit a
2-year-old
at a family's home in north central San Antonio April 2. The
child
was said to be very familiar with the animal. Hendel says it was a
family
pet for six years. ACS believes the dog came in to contact with a
rabid
animal.
"It's not running rampant, but it is something that's
very serious," said
Hendel. "We are pulling out all stops to let
people know it's serious,
vaccinate your dog."
The best way
to protect your pets is to make sure they have their rabies
vaccinations.
Rabies left untreated in a human is fatal. Health leaders say
anyone
who is bitten, should seek medical attention.
http://www.kens5.com/home/Family-pet-bites-2-year-old-rabies-confirmed-90542499.html
by
Joe Conger / KENS 5
Posted on April 10, 2010 at 6:55 PM
Related:
http://www.kens5.com/home/Area-counties-report-rise-in-rabies-90146567.html
http://www.kens5.com/home/Animal-Control-officers-warning-of-rabies-outbreak-in-Guadalupe-County-87422787.html
Animal
care officers hit the streets around the Stone Oak area early
Saturday
morning, passing out literature and warning families to look out
for
rabid animals.
The City of San Antonio and health officials have
confirmed a case of a
rabid dog there. The animal is a family pet
that bit a 2-year-old child.
Owners say the dog only went outside
twice a day.
Authorities say he was aggressive, and bit the child
earlier this week. The
dog was taken to an ACS lab for testing
where rabies was confirmed. That
child will be okay.
It is
the third case of rabies in Bexar County since 2005.
Animal Care
Services is trying to zero in on how the dog contracted the
disease.
Raccoons, skunks and bats are the typical carriers in Bexar County.
"Of
course, we're concerned, anytime an animal bites anybody, but certainly
when it bites a child you've got a really serious situation. So
they did
take the child to start the rabies shots, and the rabies
test did come back
positive." said ACS' Lisa Norwood.
Officers
went door to door, telling folks to get their pets vaccinated, and
to
watch out for strays. ACS is offering low-cost shot clinics
throughout
the area this spring.
The next clinic is at the eastside branch
of The Boys and Girls Club on
Martin Luther King Dr. on April 21.
It will continue through May. The
clinics start at 2 p.m. and end at
4 p.m.
Vaccinations are also available at Animal Care Services
headquarters on
State Hwy 151.
------------------------------------
RPOA
Texas Outreach (501 C4 Nonprofit)
www.rpoatexasoutreach.org
Responsible
Pet Owners Alliance (501 C3 Nonprofit)
www.responsiblepetowners.org
900
NE Loop 410 #311-D
San Antonio, TX 78209
$15 Annual Dues
(Jan-Dec)