Commentary: I Thought Rabies Was A Thing Of The Past — Until My Dog Had A Run-in With A Rabid Bat - Beritaja

Since I became an adult, the database of things that I consciousness reasonably assured will ne'er hap to maine has grown pinch each passing year: I will ne'er triumph the lottery (I don’t bargain tickets) aliases go a celebrated archaeologist (dreamed but ne'er trained), but neither will I dice while skydiving (no 1 could make maine skydive) aliases person to interest about rabies.

When I was young, rabies was a large interest — arsenic a kid I was warned, repeatedly, to ne'er attack a unusual canine if I didn’t want to strengthen the excruciating symptom of dozens of injections, delivered by a footlong needle, correct successful my stomach. When I first saw the segment successful “To Kill a Mockingbird” successful which Atticus shoots a huffy dog, I could only dream my ain begetter would beryllium capable to do the same.

But by the 1970s, arsenic the canine rabies vaccine became wide disposable and progressively mandatory, that segment and each its implications slipped toward the anachronistic.

Until my hubby recovered 1 of our dogs gazing down astatine a grounded bat connected our backmost patio the different night.

To beryllium honest, our first guidance was dog-owner chagrin. Harley is simply a rescue hound, of indeterminate but intelligibly mixed breed, who is fixed to leaping successful the aerial to threat astatine moths and making vain but enthusiastic attempts to drawback lizards. My husband’s presumption that Harley had brought down this bat seemed questionable — the canine ne'er really catches the moths — but my sympathy was decidedly pinch the bat, which appeared stunned.

Being very observant not to touch it, my hubby moved the squeaking critter to a dog-free zone, successful the hopes it would conscionable flap away. Alas, it was dormant the adjacent morning. (Here is wherever I admit our first correction — we should person simply put a container aliases bucket complete the bat and called animal control.)

Harley is successful quarantine for 30 days aft an brushwood pinch a rabid bat.

(Mary Mcnamara / Los Angeles Times)

As luck would person it, Harley had a vet assignment that very day, and truthful I casually mentioned the bat. The vet didn’t really freeze, but she surely utilized a very no-nonsense sound erstwhile she asked: “Did you bring the bat? We request the bat.”

Of people they needed the bat. Why hadn’t I thought to bring the bat? I unrecorded successful the foothills wherever bear, bobcat and upland lion sightings break up the tedium of coyote and raccoon encounters. I cognize that bats are imaginable rabies carriers, yet someway I did not link this pinch my ain backyard.

I felt very stupid, particularly erstwhile the vet informed maine that, though only a mini percent of bats transportation the disease, much than a fewer person been recovered successful adjacent Burbank and Glendale. A speedy Google hunt revealed the L.A. County rabid bat map, which, connected that day, listed 33 infected bats encountered during this twelvemonth alone.

I (again very carefully) brought the bat to the vet’s office, which successful move shipped it to the county’s nationalist veterinary wellness department. More, and progressively panicked, online investigation reacquainted maine pinch the scary of the disease, which is beautiful overmuch 100% fatal successful each unvaccinated dogs and those unvaccinated humans who do not person curen earlier becoming symptomatic — conscionable past year, a Fresno female died from rabies aft being bitten by a bat that she was trying to region from her classroom.

Also its history. Turns out, rabid-dog attacks were a beautiful large problem successful L.A. until the Southern California Veterinary Medical Assn. began offering nationalist vaccination clinics successful 1958. According to the region nationalist wellness website, the past locally acquired infection successful a canine occurred 10 years later.

Vaccinations work; what a concept.

Harley, who precocious turned 1, was already up to day connected each his shots — the travel to the vet had been to get the adjacent round, including a rabies booster. The vet, and past a very bully expert pinch the county, reassured maine that moreover if the bat turned retired to beryllium infected, location was virtually nary chance of Harley getting sick.

I besides learned that moreover an unvaccinated dog, aliases cat, could beryllium protected if they are vaccinated quickly aft an brushwood pinch an animal carrying rabies.

So erstwhile the bat results came backmost affirmative — location are now 37 encounters listed connected the map, including ours and 3 different caller ones — I did not illness successful fearfulness that my beloved canine would die.

“Out of an abundance of caution,” (the region official’s words) we are required to support Harley successful quarantine from different dogs (except his champion buddy Koda, our separator collie operation who’s besides successful lockdown) for 30 days. During this clip we should show him for symptoms and springiness him loads of hugs because he is the champion canine ever, and we could not carnivore to suffer him. (OK, that past spot is not portion of the charismatic protocol, but we’re doing it anyway.)

We besides had to capable retired respective forms and nonstop successful copies of his vaccination certificates arsenic good arsenic his photo. The region quickly distributed leaflets passim the neighborhood, informing residents that a rabid bat had been recovered adjacent the transverse streets of our location and providing accusation of what to do if you find an ailing aliases dormant bat successful aliases adjacent your house. (Which is really I learned that we should person covered the mediocre point pinch a container aliases bucket and called animal control.)

All of this raised my individual worry level but was mostly reassuring: L.A. County is very superior about preventing a resurgence of rabies.

With vaccinations of each kinds presently nether siege, including among pet owners, I connection this communicative arsenic a reminder: Rabies, for illustration galore different unspeakable diseases, still exists and could look successful your life erstwhile you slightest expect it.

My kids person ne'er worried about gathering up pinch huffy dogs (or whether their begetter would beryllium capable to sprout them) because they, and we, are privileged to unrecorded successful a clip erstwhile subject has eradicated a fatal threat that was ubiquitous little than 60 years ago.

That luxury has, I fear, made america forgetful. Just arsenic the occurrence of different vaccines has lulled excessively galore group to falsely judge that they request not fearfulness bales aliases COVID-19 or, God thief us, polio, the agelong absence of rabies gave maine a mendacious consciousness of security. I did not position that bat arsenic a peril until I was reminded, by aesculapian professionals and authorities officials, to do so.

In different words, I had ne'er personally encountered rabies truthful I thought I ne'er would. And past I did.

Maybe I should commencement buying lottery tickets.