Does anyone know if CS/EIS would help in this situation???
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Nov 18, 2006 2:01 PM Subject: Food for thought To: [email protected], [email protected] Crossposted from another list - I think skunks are present in all parts of the US - they consistute a danger that I hadn't given much thought to since I live in the middle of town - but I see skunks in the greenbelts near my home occasionally....... <Some of you may have received this email from other groups, however, it is a very real reminder about these kinds of dangers..... .. Permission was given to cross-post. I have a terribly tragic story to relate to everyone in the hopes that it will prevent this from ever happening to another litter of Leo puppies. I'm sorry for the length of this story, but I felt I had to include all of the details. Last Friday the 27th, it was a nice, relatively warm October day, so I put my 4-1/2 week old litter of 9 puppies outside in an ex-pen. The ex-pen was located about 20 feet from my back door and was a 4 ft high pen with extra heavy gauge wire. After the pups were out for about an hour, I was about to bring them in when Sarabel looked out the window and noticed a skunk by the puppy pen. I went out, expecting to shoo it away by shouting, but it took no notice of me at all. Then I saw it put its head through the wire and grab a puppy. I ran into the house, grabbed a broom, and smacked the skunk over the head, but it still took little notice of me, not even spraying me. Finally it wandered away, and we rushed out and brought the puppies in. Then the nightmare began. A phone call to my vet made me very alarmed when the first thing he said was that the skunk might be rabid and to check the puppies very carefully for injuries. On close examination, two puppies had bites/scratches on their faces, one which was an obvious bite. On my vet's advice, I immediately separated those two puppies. The next day, the skunk appeared in my neighbor's yard and walked toward their son as if to attack. The skunk was killed, and on Tuesday the results came back positive for rabies. By that time the girls and I had already started post exposure rabies treatment. The nightmare continued as the more I talked to health officials, vets, and others, the more horrible this story became. It was clear that my puppies were almost certainly going to contract rabies. I have learned more about rabies and how it is transmitted than I ever wanted to know. Young puppies are extremely vulnerable to contracting rabies when exposed as they have no immunities to it and are too young to vaccinate. Vaccination after exposure does nothing to prevent rabies. I also learned that bites on the face, especially near the nose, are the most dangerous. Both puppies were bitten right next to their noses. One of my puppy buyers is a nationally known infectious disease epidemiologist, and he told me that the puppies that had obvious bites would definitely get rabies and the other seven were also in danger. I did not find any obvious injuries on them, but the tiniest unseen scratch would be enough to infect a puppy with rabies. This has been the most difficult week of my life. Saturday morning I had the two bit ten puppies euthanized, a decision that I had agonized over all week. After making two previous appointments and not showing up for them, I finally found the courage to do what had to be done. There was no choice; I could not allow those puppies to reach the point of being symptomatic of rabies and contagious, which they most certainly would have in a few weeks. The fate of the remaining seven puppies is unknown at this time. None will be going to their families at 8 weeks. The local health dept. has them quarantined at my home with strict regulations imposed. There are so many unknowns which makes it difficult to know what to do. Because I don't know how long the skunk was there and how many puppies it tried to bite/scratch/ bite/scratch/ <WBR>grab, it's impossible to know if any or all also been exposed. Puppies naturally mouth, bite, and lick each other, so if they stay together and one becomes rabid, that puppy will i mmediately infect the rest. There is also a potential risk to our human family. The post exposure treatment is highly effective, but is not 100 percent foolproof. There are cases where it has failed. I am continuing to explore all possible options and to talk to as many knowledgeable people as I can before I make a decision on the seven puppies. All week I have told myself that this has to be a terrible dream and not a reality. Unfortunately it is a reality, and I have learned a terrible lesson. I have now built a pen within a pen creating a double barrier; a six foot high chain link pen surrounding another six foot high pen, with the puppies in the inner pen. I want to warn all breeders to never allow your young puppies to be outside unless they are in a pen with a double barrier or in an extremely secure pen with openings small enough to stop any wild animals from getting heads and claws in. Alida von Alpensee Leos < BR>The final outcome...as of today November 10, 2006, all the puppies have been put down. Shared by Diane Zdrodowski _www.evanlakecavali ers.com_ (http://www.evanlake cavaliers. com/) Ms. Kendra James Kenningway Bichon Frise, Perm. Reg'd. 33 years of healthy, homebred champions Calgary, Alberta, Canada Yes, this is a sad reminder to be ever watchful. I did contact the owner of these babies, and she was most grateful that her message is getting out there, despite the tough times they've been through..... ... These babies were too young for a rabies vaccine. And I know, many of us, are vigilant about over-vaccinating, however, if your dog comes into contact with a rabid animal, there is little one can do. Here, in Calgary, we have been told by vets to be watchful about squirrels, raccoons and coyotes. In the city, we have seen all of them wander into our neighborhoods. ........ May these little babies that died, serve as a reminder to all of us, to be very careful when our dogs are outside. Kendra -- Day Sutton [email protected] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: [email protected] Address Off-Topic messages to: [email protected] The Silver List and Off Topic List archives are currently down... List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
