{"id":3211,"date":"2014-09-05T14:53:52","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T14:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging-live.lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/pets\/rabies-and-rabies-shots-the-bark-is-not-worse-than-the-bite\/"},"modified":"2014-09-05T14:53:52","modified_gmt":"2014-09-05T14:53:52","slug":"rabies-and-rabies-shots-the-bark-is-not-worse-than-the-bite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-live.lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/pets\/rabies-and-rabies-shots-the-bark-is-not-worse-than-the-bite","title":{"rendered":"Rabies and Rabies Shots: The Bark Is Not Worse Than the Bite"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"If only they\u2019d developed the rabies vaccine in the mid-nineteenth century, Old Yeller would have survived the battle with the rabid wolf, the book and the movie would either have never been written or taken a different turn, and I\u2019d have needed to rack my brain for an intro and a segue.<\/p>\n

The \u201cbest doggone dog in the West\u201d was a fictional creature, but according to Dr. Dayna Wiedenkeller, DVM, the film\u2019s portrayal of a dog infected with rabies and displaying symptoms a few days later was realistic. Dr. Wiedenkeller practices veterinary medicine at the Community Veterinary Hospital<\/a> in Garden Grove and is also this year\u2019s president of the California Veterinary Medical Association<\/a> (CVMA); she said that it was too bad that rabies inoculations for dogs weren\u2019t mandatory until the mid-1950s (see why here<\/a>; the  reported incidents are chilling in their brevity), when the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association<\/a> (SCVMA) set up rabies clinics in LA.<\/p>\n

\u201cRabid dogs were running the street\u2014the risk to human and canine health was scary,\u201d Dr. Wiedenkeller said. \u201cThey did an amazing job in LA, and everyone followed suit in California and most likely then across the country. They almost eradicated the disease. Fast-forward to today\u2014the same problem could happen. If your animal is subjected to rabies, it will have to be quarantined or euthanized. Imagine the heartbreaking death of a beloved pet. They didn\u2019t have the shot back then [in the period depicted in Old Yeller<\/i>], but shame on us if we don\u2019t do it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabies is a virus<\/a> that causes a severe brain infection in mammals, including humans. It\u2019s transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal; symptoms include agitation, excessive salivating, biting or snapping at apparently imaginary objects, appearing wobbly or disoriented, circling and self-mutilation. And it\u2019s considered 100 percent fatal.<\/p>\n

The term urban wildlife <\/i>is in increasing use everywhere as more and more animals that we\u2019re used to seeing in the wild make forays into cities and towns. The increase in coyote sightings in Long Beach, Seal Beach and Los Alamitos are one example; bears who show up in swimming pools and trees farther north and east are others. According to an article by Dr. Jessica Vogelsang<\/a>, incidents of rabies are on the rise because of the encroachment of humans upon their territory. In June 26, a rabid skunk was the first reported case of rabies since 1979 was reported in the 90815 area of Long Beach.<\/p>\n

A news release stated that the person who notified authorities about the skunk handled the situation correctly; she made no attempt to pick up or capture the animal and immediately called Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS) officials to remove the skunk after she noticed erratic behavior by the animal. The skunk likely had an encounter with a rabies-infected bat, the release said. City health officer Dr. Mitchell Kushner stated that bat-to-mammal rabies transmission is common, particularly at this time of year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had one get into a home in Los Alamitos about four years ago, I believe, and it tested positive for rabies,\u201d said Ted Stevens, Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS) manager. \u201cLuckily, the dog was vaccinated, but the residents had to be vaccinated after the fact, to be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this writing, there have been 17 confirmed cases of rabies in Orange and Los Angeles counties (including the city of Long Beach) so far this year<\/a>, and most of them have been reported in bats. \u201cAny animal can carry rabies, but bats fly and we\u2019re often afraid of the cat trapping the bat,\u201d Dr. Wiedenkeeler said. \u201cIt\u2019s a blood-borne disease, so the cat could get bitten, but the cat can more commonly kill or bite the bat\u201d Cats, Stevens noted, are the most commonly reported domestic animal<\/a> in the United States to contract rabies.<\/p>\n

These stats shouldn\u2019t be a cause for alarm but for caution. Shots against the deadly disease are an inexpensive way to ensure that your cat or dog won\u2019t become infected, Stevens said. Rabies inoculations are one of the requirements of pet licensing, which is the means to keep track of animals current on their vaccines<\/a>. Long Beach Animal Care Services provides low-cost shot clinics<\/a> that include rabies inoculation. It should also be mentioned that laws related to rabies were updated in January of this year<\/a>, and a pet owner can now get a waiver with veterinary approval. The process is listed on one of ACS\u2019s webpages<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pet owners differ in opinion regarding the shots, however. Some indoor-cat owners feel that keeping the pet inside is caution enough and a home invasion by bats is unlikely, which it probably is. However, pets have panicked and become lost during earthquakes and other disasters when they escape from the home they\u2019re in. The chances of contracting rabies may be slim, but the more wary among us opt for the shots.<\/p>\n

Others object to the expense, inconvenience, a problem with a mandatory vaccine (dogs over 4 months statewide; cats in certain communities including Long Beach<\/a>) and in many cases, the shots themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that rabies shots are overused when there\u2019s such a small incidence, and we should be cautious about them,\u201d said one dog owner who chose not to be identified. \u201cI think pets are overly vaccinated. I think if people were more aware of the health of their pets rather than following a vaccination schedule, all the pets would be better off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pet owner mentioned reactions to the shots, including a dog that nearly died from one. Dr. Wiedenkeller stated that animals can develop allergic reactions as do humans and the percentage of reactions from the shots are low, less than 10 percent. She stressed that if a pet has a delayed reaction to a rabies shot, he or she must be immediately brought to the vet. There are several emergency and after-hours vets in or near Long Beach; ask your regular vet for a reference, and be sure to have the telephone number at hand.<\/p>\n

Dr. Wiedenkeller did cite some controversy that surfaced about 10 years ago concerning tumors and sarcomas that cats used to get in the back after the shots. These were believed to have been caused by adjuvants, which are substances added to a killed-virus vaccine, in this case rabies, to enhance the immune system’s reaction. Vaccines have changed significantly in the past few years, she said; non-adjuvant vaccines have been developed and are available. Cats now get vaccines in the hind legs instead of in the back, and she said that she\u2019s seen only one sarcoma since the new vaccines were developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can’t hardly tell at first, not till they get to the point of slobbering and staggering around\u2026.But you want to watch for others that ain’t that far along. Now, you take a bobcat or a fox. You know they’ll run if you give ’em the chance. But when one don’t run, or maybe makes fight at you, why, you shoot him and shoot him quick. After he’s bitten you, it’s too late.\u201d That\u2019s one of the characters in the film Old Yeller <\/i>giving a down-home-and-quick explanation of rabies. However you feel about rabies injections, the y protect pets and control a horrible disease that used to be a lot more common than it is now.<\/p>\n

“I got rabies shots for biting the head off a bat but that’s OK – the bat had to get Ozzy shots”
<\/em>~ Ozzy Osbourne (I give him a pass)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Health Department and Animal Care Services shared the following tips about rabies:<\/strong><\/p>\n