Update: the jail is almost complete
I've been working with the health department these last 11 days to try and figure out the best way to isolate my dog for the required quarantine period. What we've decided is to build a pen inside of our garage. It's on a concrete slab and has four secure walls. My wife and I completed about 75% of the pen last night; my father-in-law will come by to help this weekend. Hopefully we can call Animal Control on Monday to ask for a pen inspection. If they sign off on it, my boy can come back home. It's going to be hard on bothm Diego and us, but I'm hopeful that all of us will work into a good routine within the first month or so.
I've been missing his doggie smile something fierce. And while I won't be able to wrestle him for another 169 days, I'll be able to keep him company, which should help. I hope.
Anyway, I'll start a new category pretty soon which will consist entirely of pet care during extended isolation. It should be tremendously popular to my readers.
Hey, what do you know? This is post number 2,000. Man, that's a lot of wasted pixels.
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Posted by: vw bug at June 02, 2007 08:47 AM (FPOeI)
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Now you need to set up a live doggie-cam.
And you can sell "Free Diego!" T-shirts :-)
Posted by: Harvey at June 02, 2007 02:32 PM (L7a63)
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This is really tough, but hang in there, man. It's for a family member.
What I still don't get is why 180 days? Did they say why? I thought the max incubation period was like two weeks or so.
Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at June 03, 2007 07:14 PM (Yh9SA)
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Well, as per my previous post, the important info is:
# Isolate the possibly infected animal for
* 90 days if vaccinations are up to date
* 180 days if they've expired
My dog's expired a couple of months ago. I had a vet visit scheduled, but wasn't that worried about the booster because I lived in a nice suburban neighborhood and my dog was fenced in our yard. Silly me.
Anyway, the 180 days is because some dogs have taken almost that long to exhibit symptoms. It's exceedingly rare. In fact, if Diego gets to the end of July in a healthy way, he's about 90%-95% likely to be fine. But it's for public health concerns. Let's say Diego had bitten me, and I was unaware that he had rabies because he was asymptomatic. If I didn't notice until I exhibited symptoms, they'd be digging the hole for my corpse. Only one person in this country has survived after symptoms appeared. They put her into a coma for a few months. However, it hasn't worked on subsequent attempts. Rabies is absolutely deadly to humans.
I'll post on the pen soon. I've taken some pictures. The enclosure could probably hold a small rhino.
Hey! Maybe McCain is available.
Posted by: physics geek at June 03, 2007 09:26 PM (vKMFv)
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Thanks for the update. Hopefully Diego will be home in no time and the next five months will pass quickly. Glad it's working out. CONGRATS on the number of posts!
Posted by: Brandy at June 04, 2007 01:05 PM (LfapC)
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"The enclosure could probably hold a small rhino.
Hey! Maybe McCain is available."
LOL! :-D
Posted by: Harvey at June 09, 2007 12:31 AM (L7a63)
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A furry family member in need
My week started off with a bang. Around 4:00 a.m. Monday morning, one of my dogs awakened me with some ferocious barking. To be sure, Diego is very protective of
his yard, house and family. He will bow-wow at people across the street in their backyards, just so they know that they aren't welcome. But to us, he's just a happy 90+ pound puppy.
Anyway. I stepped out back onto the deck and saw Diego barking his head off and dancing around part of the fence about 20 feet away, trying to get at something. All I could see in the dim light was something furry, but I could heard snarling, growling and spitting. I thought at first that it might be a bobcat, so I flipped on the backyard light. Instead, I saw the angriest raccoon that I've ever seen. A second later, it jumped off of the fence onto my dog's head.
I might have mentioned that Diego is a big lovable puppy, albeit a protective one. This tactic caught him off guard for a brief instant, during which the raccoon bit him on the muzzle and jumped back onto the fence. I started chucking heavy things at the raccoon; I've got a pretty good arm, but I didn't score a direct enough hit to knock the damned thing off. However, when it raced along the fence towards me, I smacked it pretty good with a deck chair, at which point it raced away.
I called my dog over to check him out. Except for the blood on his muzzle, he seemed fine. And I knew from his calm demeanor that Osama bin Raccoon had left the building. As I cleaned off his wound, though, it hit me: the raccoon that bit my dog must have had rabies. So I confined him in the garage and called animal control.
The AC guy who came out was quite sympathetic to our problem. He also informed me of my options in the matter. For those of you not living in Virginia, those options might be different, but my guess is that they're similar. And they are:
- Euthanize the bitten or scratched animal
- Isolate the possibly infected animal for
- 90 days if vaccinations are up to date
- 180 days if they've expired
Since nothing says "I love you" to someone quite like killing them because it's the easiest way out, I'm looking at option number 2, or more specifically 2a. As it turns out, Diego's vaccinations were a couple of months overdue. What's even worse is that we had an appointment at the vet's office for Tuesday morning.
I spoke to the health department and they sent me a copy of the requirements for the pen within a pen. I'll be headed to Home Depot with the plans to figure out what the cost of materials will be. Doesn't really matter, as I'll be building the effing thing regardless.
I asked the Animal Control guy if any places around here could house an isolated animal for 6 months. He mentioned that the pound could do it, but that his boss would be unlikely to approve such a request due to the large number of animals flowing through the pound. So it's on to construction of a big fucking cage that my dog will, best case, have to live in for 6 months without any of the family being able to touch him. Considering how gregarious he is, Diego could suffer some serious emotinal traumua because he'll think that he's being punished. Or he could be fine when he comes out and still want to give me some of his good loving kisses which, truthfully, I don't feel that I deserve right now.. Worst case, of course, is that he goes rabid anyway and I'll have to put him down.
So that's where I am. A crazy ass animal attacks a four-legged member of the family and gets away, and the victim gets rewarded with long term isolation and possible execution. And my family will get to watch him suffer in a cage during that time without being able to rub his tummy and make him feel better.
I just want him to be okay. He deserves better than this.
Update: Anyone else in the state of Virginia would be well advised to read this document and the associated attachments.
Update: I found this article from 13 years ago in which a family puppy was bitten before the mandatory vaccination had been given. The family member volunteered for 3 post-exposure rabies vaccines so that she could play with the dog and keep him people friendly. I've left a message for the public health supervisor about the article, inquiring in that would be a possibility for me. Yes, I know about the entire series of shots and where they're administered, but I'm perfectly willing to go through with it if it will keep my dog happy while he's incarcerated. To be fair, it would make me happy to be able to play with him, too. Hopefully that hasn't been outlawed yet in the interest of "protecting the people".
I'll provide updates as they occur.
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that is horrible. I hope it works out ok for all of you. That always scares me around here due to the number of wild animals. Good luck.
Posted by: vw bug at May 22, 2007 04:28 PM (FPOeI)
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I'd do it too.
Good luck to you and Diego. That was always my nightmare the whole time we were in NC. Even though the Princess' shots were always up to date....
Posted by: caltechgirl at May 22, 2007 04:43 PM (+YD+B)
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You must be a better human being than me... We would have probably just put a little salve on the bite, gone in for the vaccines on Tuesday and got on with our lives - though in Missouri I don't know if we have the same rabies threat that you do. The situation you are facing seems absurdly extreme, especially if the vaccines you had scheduled were 'boosters'. Best regards and God Bless you and your dog.
Posted by: Brandy at May 24, 2007 09:01 AM (LfapC)
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The shots were in fact boosters. And 6 months is a long time. I'm just not ready to give up yet.
Posted by: physics geek at May 24, 2007 11:15 AM (MT22W)
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Hopefully they'll let you get the people-shots and keep Diego at home since he had already had the regular shots. That's what seems so absurd to me though - because you did the "right" thing and called animal control, your family and your dog will have to suffer disproportionately. That, to me, is where 'the system' is messed up. Logic would say that there's a 99.9% chance that Diego will not have rabies - he's been vaccinated in the past, and there is no certainty that the raccoon even had rabies. A good friend of mine hunts raccoon in Kansas and confirms that they will attack if they're cornered. The attack doesn't necessarily precipiate rabies. Again, God Bless you & yours. Let's hope for a happy ending!
Posted by: brandy at May 25, 2007 09:19 AM (LfapC)
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Sorry - only semi-literate evidently...the attack doesn't necessarily precipitate rabies.
Posted by: brandy at May 25, 2007 09:22 AM (LfapC)
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Brandy, I understood you just fine. :-)
Here's the thing: even when bitten by actually rabid animals, I believe that dogs contract the disease only about 13%-20% of the time. So now it's a waiting game. We're still looking into the housing thing. I called the rescue shelter where we adopted him 5 years ago and she's checking around with some people she knows to see what might be done. She also knows the AC people very well and might be able to help us out through them.
Yeah, Diego does nothing wrong and will now be punished for it. I understand why: it's to protect the public. If a human starts to exhibit symptons before getting the first booster, rabies is 99.999% fatal. So infecting people unknowingly isn't a good idea. Anyway, we'll see what happens. Once we get past 60 days, Diego is about 95% likely to be rabies free. Then we just have to wait it out.
Posted by: physics geek at May 25, 2007 09:26 PM (vKMFv)
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Anything I can do to ease Diego's misery? Buy him a subscription to PlayDog or something?
Posted by: Harvey at May 26, 2007 10:52 AM (L7a63)
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I was thinking of an inflatable Lassie. That should help relieve the stress a bit.
Posted by: physics geek at May 27, 2007 01:14 PM (vKMFv)
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I have been reading your blog for well over 2 years now - and have never commented - but I feel that I must on this post.
I feel for you man! - having a loved member of the family in that position is not easy - I really hope you are able to be with him during this difficult time for the family.
I lost my cat to a coyote a few years ago and know what it is like to lose someone who looks upon you for everything and loves unconditionally.
Good luck man - and best wishes.
From all your Canadian Readers.
Matt
Posted by: Matt Koivisto at May 29, 2007 11:27 PM (1m148)
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Matt,
Thanks for the well wishes. I'd admit to being surprised that any Canadians read this blog, but I'm actually more surprised anyone reads this blog.
I'll post an update shortly on the situation. Since the pen in question is along the lines of Fort Knox, I've spoke with the Health Department about some other quarantine options, which I think we're going to explore. Big thing is that it will bring my boy back home where he belongs.
Posted by: physics geek at May 30, 2007 08:32 AM (MT22W)
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We have coyotes coming into Atlanta neighborhoods and making snacks of pets outside. I'm glad that your dog will be okay. Next time, don't call the State or wait until after the shots.
Posted by: Woody at June 01, 2007 06:55 PM (v5VVJ)
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Give
Your monoey, your time. It all counts.
Over at Wizbang, Paul gives us glimpse from the inside, and some good advice to boot:
If you do something to help the victims, ping this post... If there is a lot of people helping out, Kevin will set up a post with the links. (I just volunteered him
Think about it for a second from my chair... (I'm not whining but) I'm almost 40 years old.... Here is the sum total of all my worldly possessions: 4 pairs of shorts, 5 shirts, 2 pairs of shoes, 4 pairs of underwear, 1 pair of blue jeans, a box of family pictures, 2 flashlights, a piece of trench art my grandfather brought back from WWI and my father's hammer. (Hey, it means a lot to me!) That's it. Everything else is gone. And BTW, I'm unemployed.
I tell you that not to whine but to let you see the tree thru the forest. Multiply my situation by about a million. Stop and think about that... A million people homeless and unemployed.
If you're a blogger then (by near definition) you're a self proclaimed talented person. Prove it. They'll be plenty of time for punditry and pontification next month... In the mean time there is work to be done. Figure out how to help the victims.
Please (for the sake of all of us who actually understand the situation) please stop whining about the evacuation. It was a stunning success. Please stop saying that the levee at 17th street and Canal St. broke... There's no such place. (and no, FOXNews, even if there was such a place, I assure you, it would be on the south side of the lake and not the north side of the lake where you showed it on your map)
So here it is in a nutshell... Let's get some work done and play Monday morning quarterback sometime in early 2006. There's about million or so of us who would prefer it that way.
Glenn Reynolds and Michelle Malkin have a multitude of links to help the disaster victims. And Capital One is hosting another telethon this Friday, September 2, much like they did after 9/11 and the tsunami. If you're not sure where to send your money, they might be able to help.
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Robert Hayes, Editor of Blogger News Network, sent around an email to BNN contributors with this suggestion:
At the end of September, there will still be a great need for donations and support, but "donor fatigue" will very likely have set in. I don't mean to take away from donating right now - we all should. But I'd like to generate a pulse of giving that will hit next month, in addition to the donations right now.
I think he's right... expecially for donations to organizations like the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities, which specialize in resources to help victims longterm as well as urgently. I'm sure that Hayes will probably
update this idea at BNN shortly. Look in the right-hand column.
Posted by: The MaryHunter at September 02, 2005 08:41 PM (SRaIZ)
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