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Do they have a vet? The office will have a record too. If they haven't taken their dog to a vet for anything in ages that's going to trigger animal control to act too.
As I mentioned in my OP, they gave me Petsmart as the clinic they are going to. However, Petsmart only has a record of one of their three dogs. I passed that info to the animal control.
It didn't break the skin. You are overreacting to the nth degree.
It did break the skin, that is where the blood came from. There is a wound that is healing. Before you post, you should at least read the posts by the OP.
As I mentioned in my OP, they gave me Petsmart as the clinic they are going to. However, Petsmart only has a record of one of their three dogs. I passed that info to the animal control.
OH, sorry, I missed it. Yes, they need a reality check and you will be doing that for them! Really no excuse for such inattention. Their dogs don't want rabies or other preventable diseases like kennel cough, parvo or distemper either.
OH, sorry, I missed it. Yes, they need a reality check and you will be doing that for them! Really no excuse for such inattention. Their dogs don't want rabies or other preventable diseases like kennel cough, parvo or distemper either.
Yes, I agree with you. Again, they have three children, and I've seen the kids walk the dogs. We live near open space, so this dog's encounter with a rabid skunk is not entirely out of the question. How can a parent not be concerned with keeping their dogs up to date on shots is beyond me.
They sent me an info on another clinic where they took their dogs - Planned Pethood. However, the one they've apparently taken their dogs previous is now permanently closed. I called another, closest location, hoping they have a global network where they can look up the records from all their locations (Petsmart does, apparently). So far, I was able to only leave a message.
Oh my, I really didn't want this to become such an ordeal. But now I'm going to pursue this to the resolution. At least they are being somewhat responsive, although I can't get wife's correct address, and I need to pass it to the animal control. Since the husband is out of the country, the dogs are with the wife.
SHEESH, you shouldn't be the one who has to hunt down vaccination information on this dog .... they should be doing that!
But I get it - they're not about to do so, and you need to know.
So sorry to hear about this, OP - I'd be boiling by now! Hope it all turns out okay for you and your family.
Thank you. I am just a bit peeved . However, I feel like I have some control over the situation. I did a good amount of reading about rabies. From standpoint of my child's well being, if the dog is alive and well 10 days after the bite, we are in the clear, regardless of the dog's vaccination status. If the dog gets sick and is confirmed rabid, or we somehow lose track of the dog (I doubt it, but let's say one of these happen), my pediatrician should be able to administer rabies PEP. I will definitely pursue it in this case.
As to the question of irresponsible owners, I will try this not to bother me all too much. I did what I had to do.
Thank you. I am just a bit peeved . However, I feel like I have some control over the situation. I did a good amount of reading about rabies. From standpoint of my child's well being, if the dog is alive and well 10 days after the bite, we are in the clear, regardless of the dog's vaccination status. If the dog gets sick and is confirmed rabid, or we somehow lose track of the dog (I doubt it, but let's say one of these happen), my pediatrician should be able to administer rabies PEP. I will definitely pursue it in this case.
As to the question of irresponsible owners, I will try this not to bother me all too much. I did what I had to do.
10 days would be too long to help your child. Don't rely on that to tell you. Those people will have to pay for the 10 day quarantine, btw. They don't just observe it at home or do this for free. Anything you are doing is now for that dog, not you, for it's benefit or to be punitive.
OH, sorry, I missed it. Yes, they need a reality check and you will be doing that for them! Really no excuse for such inattention. Their dogs don't want rabies or other preventable diseases like kennel cough, parvo or distemper either.
Kennel cough isn't preventable. The vaccine covers only the most common strains, and honestly, unless it is an elderly or health-compromised animal, I wouldn't bother to get the bordatella vaccine. The most reliable way of "preventing" kennel cough is by building up your dog/s immune system.
Parvo and distemper- once the dog has been vaccinated and had their booster shots, they don't need to be revaccinated; better to titer if the owner is concerned.
Rabies- a vaccination with booster provides lifetime protection. Because of the danger to the general population (human and animal) it is still a required vaccine, but many veterinarians are trying to change laws that mandate it every 3 years as it isn't necessary to maintain immunity. As Aredhel said above, I wouldn't worry about an expired tag.
Kennel cough isn't preventable. The vaccine covers only the most common strains, and honestly, unless it is an elderly or health-compromised animal, I wouldn't bother to get the bordatella vaccine. The most reliable way of "preventing" kennel cough is by building up your dog/s immune system.
Parvo and distemper- once the dog has been vaccinated and had their booster shots, they don't need to be revaccinated; better to titer if the owner is concerned.
Rabies- a vaccination with booster provides lifetime protection. Because of the danger to the general population (human and animal) it is still a required vaccine, but many veterinarians are trying to change laws that mandate it every 3 years as it isn't necessary to maintain immunity. As Aredhel said above, I wouldn't worry about an expired tag.
Well, tags don't actually mean anything. I can transfer a tag from one pet to another. But an expired vaccine verified, I fully agree. I also disagree with every 3 years after having had two. I feel that two is certainly enough and plenty of research indicates what you said here. I am glad at least that EVERY YEAR requirement is gone. All that poison in the pets for no reason! I am not anti-vax, but I am anti over-vaxxing.
Update: the owners sent me a picture of the tag. Looks like it's 2015 rabies tag, given at a humane society in the neighboring town and the photo is clearly on the dog's collar, dog being the one who bit (black fur, and according to my son he is the only black dog out of the three). I really don't think they would go as far as taking a tag from another dog and saying it belonged to the dog that bit. They are definitely disorganized and don't communicate well between themselves, but they are not some crazy vicious people.
Tomorrow I will call animal control officer I spoke with today, and tell her that I got the picture of the tag. The number is clearly visible on the tag, so I ask if they have a database of some sort that lists tag numbers along with owner names. I will reiterate there are 3 dogs in the house, and ask if they will follow up on the dog's health. She told me that they do check every dog bite report to see if the dog is a regular biter. I will also call the humane society the tag was from, and ask to verify the tag number, owners name and dog's name. I think they may have adopted him at that time, and hopefully, he was listed under the same name they are using now.
Finally, I myself will ask about their dog's health in a week. It does feel now that I'm making too much fuss, but I can't let it go now, because they were so strangely vague in the beginning.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) it's really not up to me to request rabies PEP vaccine for my son. You can't just walk into your doctor's office and get shots by saying a domestic dog bit you, they don't administer those left and right. If it's a domestic dog, they need proof it was rabid. 10 day wait is OK, unless there were multiple bites on head and neck. If it's a wild animal that bit, it's a completely different story, but with domestic dogs and cats that are available for observation, and a bite other than on neck or head, you can't just get anti-rabies shots at your request. I have a friend who got a dog bite while canvassing a neighborhood for political campaign a few years ago. He never found dog's owner, so he couldn't even follow up on the dog's health or rabies shot status. He was treated at an urgent care clinic: they disinfected the wound and gave him a tetanus booster, but said they couldn't just give him rabies PEP shots. I don't think he ended up doing anything else.
I don't know if animal control will put the dog under quarantine or just let it be observed at the house. It looks like the dog is vaccinated after all. I don't know why it took so long to produce the tag.
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. However, I feel like I have some control over the situation. I did a good amount of reading about rabies. From standpoint of my child's well being, if the dog is alive and well 10 days after the bite, we are in the clear, regardless of the dog's vaccination status. If the dog gets sick and is confirmed rabid, or we somehow lose track of the dog (I doubt it, but let's say one of these happen), my pediatrician should be able to administer rabies PEP. I will definitely pursue it in this case.
