DENVER (KKTV) – State health officials are asking anyone who attended a puppy adoption event on July 20 to contact their hotline after a puppy tested positive for rabies.
The Moms and Mutts Colorado Rescue for Pregnant and Nursing Dogs held an adoption event on July 20 at 2721 West Oxford Ave. in Englewood.
Those who attended the event were asked to call the health department at 303-692-2700 during business hours or 303-370-9395 after hours or during the weekend.
State health officials said one puppy at the event tested positive for rabies and was euthanized. The only way to test for rabies in an animal is by euthanizing it, but they did not say what led them to believe the puppy had rabies. The puppy was part of a Shepherd Mix litter of 11 puppies.
The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians recommended euthanizing the other 11 puppies in the litter. Officials said on Friday they were contacting the families fostering those puppies to surrender them to Animal Control. None of the animals in the Shepherd Mix litter were vaccinated at the time of exposure.
They said another option would be placing the puppies on a strict 120-day quarantine, but they did not believe a strict quarantine was feasible. Instead, they decided euthanizing all 11 puppies was the best option.
MAMCO rescue said the puppy with rabies did not show symptoms until July 29 and did not show signs of being rabid until August 1. The infected puppy was not around any other dogs for nine days before the onset of symptoms.
“Rabies is extremely rare and this is the first time we have encountered such a horrible situation,” said Aron Jones, MAMCO Rescue Founder.
Rabies can be spread through saliva, typically seen in bites, scratches, or licks of an infected animal. State health officials said, depending on the type of exposure, the incubation period can take days to months, but typically takes between three and six weeks.
They said vaccinated animals who were exposed may need a booster vaccine.
Officials said the last case of human rabies in Colorado was in 1931.
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