# Bitten by stray dog



## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Hubby and I stopped this evening and picked up three stray dogs. One of them was very scared and bit hubby on the hand (broke the skin slightly). 

What are the chances the dog has rabies? Hubby is freaking out. The dogs are in the kennel now and we'll take them to the vet in the morning. Hubby wants the dog that bit to be quarantined.


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## woodsman (Dec 8, 2008)

Here's some info from CDC: 


> What happens if a neighborhood dog or cat bites me?
> 
> You should seek medical evaluation for any animal bite. However, rabies is uncommon in dogs, cats, and ferrets in the United States. Very few bites by these animals carry a risk of rabies. If the cat (or dog or ferret) appeared healthy at the time you were bitten, it can be confined by its owner for 10 days and observed. No anti-rabies prophylaxis is needed. No person in the United States has ever contracted rabies from a dog, cat or ferret held in quarantine for 10 days.
> 
> ...


http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/qanda/general.html#p3


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## JasoninMN (Feb 24, 2006)

Chances are pretty slim. I know I wouldn't worry about it. I'm not the worrying type though. You already know why the dog bit him, it was scared. If he is concerned , they can quarantine the dog for 10 days to observe it.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

I'm going to share all this info with him. The dog appears healthy (thin and uncared for, but otherwise fine) and yes, it was scared.


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

Thanks for sharing that Woodsman. I have wondered about the ten day period when the incubation time can be several months. 
I was bitten by a stray kitten once. I knew the chances were remote just because of her age but rabies isn't something to mess around with. Plus, it was when we were in a rabies outbreak which we go through periodically here. Anyways, I knew the quarrantine thing so I brought her home with me. I think she is out on the couch, sleeping. One way to get adopted.
A word of caution, the Public Health personnel here tend to get a little freaky about strays biting. I would be cautious, if you want to keep this dog, about who I told about this. The vet will have a good idea about how your local area is about this stuff.


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## Willow101 (Feb 20, 2008)

My opinion...better safe than sorry. The dog is kenneled and it will be easy to quarantine for ten days. You should demand that this happens.

As for why the ten day quarantine. The incubation period for rabies varies, depending on where the virus entered the body. It could be days and it could be months before symptoms appear. During this time the animal is free of symptoms. During the vast majority of this incubation period..where no symptoms are evident...the animal cannot pass the disease to other animals.

At the very end of the disease process the animal demonstates symptoms of the disease and is capable of passing the disease on to other animals. As most know, one of the classic symptoms is aggression. Once symptoms of the disease are evident, the animal will go down hill quickly and die. This disease process will kill the animal in less than ten days once symptoms appear. So, if an animal bites someone, quarantining the animal will allow observation to see if symptoms (biting) progress and result in death within that ten day period. Animals that are aggressive because of rabies will die very quickly as they are in the end stages of the disease...hence the reason the quarnatine is only ten days.

Chances are, the dog is rabies free and there is no need to worry. However, placing the dog in that ten day quarantine will provide peace of mind. In this case, quarantine is just keeping the dog for ten days in the kennel. The likelyhood that it is rabies is remarkabley slim but rabies is not a disease to take lightly and the quarantine is simple. I would recommend the quarantine and understand that the end result is very likely going to be no rabies. Common sense says it is better to be safe than sorry.

Willow101


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## rean (Nov 18, 2008)

I agree, better safe than sorry. Get the rabies shots, regardless. I had them when I was pregnant with my son. I got bit by a cat. No bad side effects for either of us.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

We plan to take the dogs to the vet's so they can be adopted, or their owner can find them if they're lost. We can't keep them as we already have 16 and they are NOT happy with these three adult dogs we brought home.

Hubby is going to discuss the rabies possibility with the vet, who will probably keep the male (the one who bit hubby) for 10 days observation. 

We suspect one of the dogs is the mother dog of the two puppies I found last week. The dogs are all beagles although two of them look like beagle/basset hound mixes.


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## longshadowfarms (Nov 27, 2002)

Considering all the contact you guys have with dogs of questionable origin, I would think the shots might not be a bad idea anyway. They are a pain in the patooty (we had to have them done at the ER) but other than the annoyance of going in 5 times, it wasn't that painful for the one who got them. Different people have different reactions, but they are no where near as awful as they used to be. The injections were in his thighs I believe.


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## Willow101 (Feb 20, 2008)

There is no reason to get the shots if the dog is quarantined for the ten days. If the dog doesn't die within that time....then the dog doesn't have rabies. The shots are expensive. I agree that one should get the shots if the animal is not available for testing or quarantine. But this dog is...so no need for the shots.

Obviously, this is my opinion and you should follow the advice of your doctor.

Willow101


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

I took the dogs to the vet this morning and talked to him about the bite. He said it was EXTREMELY unlikely hubby would get rabies from this dog. There has not been a case of canine to human rabies in Mississippi since the 1930s. However, he is holding the dog for 10 days...just in case.

He believes these dogs are lost and we're hoping to locate the original owner.


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

Hugs to your vet . There is a human vaccination for rabies according to one of my vets. She has to get a titer test done every so often and if indicated she gets the vaccination. I think she said it ran about $175.00. It is completely different than the post exposure series of shots given.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Yeah, we have a great vet! I called this afternoon and they already have someone interested in taking the dogs. However, they're holding them for the 10 days, not just because one bit hubby, but to also give us time to find the owner if possible.


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## CGUARDSMAN (Dec 28, 2006)

he needs to get the shots a guy here in MO didn't after being bit by a bat and he died...nothing to mess with!


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

perhaps it's not common in dogs and cats, but it does happen. i remember reading somewhere, perhaps a local newspaper, abou a little girl who had to get shots when they found out that the stray kitten that bit her had rabies. you just can't take chances with rabies.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

Hubby doesn't need shots. The dog is being kept under observation and shows no signs or rabies or any other illness, but thanks for all the concern!


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