After covering the story about Greta, the German shepherd puppy who was quarantined after accidentally biting her owner, Jane Curley, we heard from Curley and learned a bit more about the situation.
First, Curley was quick to point out that they don't blame animal control for the situation. "At this point, animal control is OK with her going home; it's the health department that won't allow it," she told Paw Nation. She and her family suspect that the health department "misinterpreted the state law and is unwilling to admit their mistake."
A quote off the Centers for Disease Control Web site makes the idea behind the law clear: "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." Curley finds it "frightening" that the law has been so badly misinterpreted.
Curley is pleased (well, as pleased as one can be) with the facility where Greta is currently housed, saying, "The vet practice has been really amazing. She is in the ICU so she sees some activity and I am sure people talk to her." That doesn't mean Curley's not anxious to get her pooch back, though: "They say she has not messed the crate. I think that's a good sign. We are hoping for the best, but concerned."
Dr. Keith Niesenbaum of Crawford Dog and Cat Hospital in Garden City Park, N.Y., shares that concern. "Puppies are in the midst of their early socialization at 11 weeks of age and this could result in a setback in Greta's development. It would not surprise me to see some delays in development such as bonding with the owners and house training," he told Paw Nation, adding that he would "be surprised if North Carolina state law actually requires an asymptomatic puppy with no history of rabies exposure to be placed in isolation."
"Fortunately, the confinement period is short, and puppies tend to be resilient," Niesenbaum went on to say. "With some environmental stimulation such as music or a TV playing along with normal day/night light cycles, while in the hospital, there will hopefully be no long lasting effects from this quarantine."
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