Gertie the Bulldog

[Gertie the Bulldog]

My Bulldog Gertie got in a little squirmish with a smelly skunk. She is now quarantined for 6 months at home. Please follow her daily blog at www.gertiethebulldog.wordpress.com Please leave Gertie a message every day if you would like, it will break up her otherwise boring day!!!

 

[kazzy220]

If he wasn't scratched or bitten why is he in quarantine?? Your vet would have told you what to bath him in to get rid of any smell??

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

What the heck is the 6 months for? Rabies is only a 14 day quarantine and that would be for broken skin from a bite or fluid transfer, so it can't be that... More info plz! :D

 

[GatorRay]

Gertie sure is cute!

 

[Gertie the Bulldog]

Gertie wasn't scratched or bitten as far as we could tell. The big issue was that her 1 year rabies certificate had expired. We could not catch the skunk to determine if it had rabies, so in turn, following Massachusetts State Law, the dog must be quarantined for 6 months to rule out rabies. After 5 months Gertie will get her rabies shot, and 1 month later a follow up booster before she is released of quarantine.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Gertie wasn't scratched or bitten as far as we could tell. The big issue was that her 1 year rabies certificate had expired. We could not catch the skunk to determine if it had rabies, so in turn, following Massachusetts State Law, the dog must be quarantined for 6 months to rule out rabies. After 5 months Gertie will get her rabies shot, and 1 month later a follow up booster before she is released of quarantine.

THAT SUCKS!

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

...following Massachusetts State Law, the dog must be quarantined for 6 months to rule out rabies.

WOW! That is harsh! Especially when you consider that rabies is not a dormant virus, but very aggressive and will manifest itself extremely quickly. I feel bad for Gertie, but at lest she is at home! In Az if her yearly rabies license is expired, the dog is impounded or you can pay to have your dog quarantined at your vet (if they offer that service) - no home quarantine available without current shots/license.

I'm glad she's at home and not in a little kennel!

 

[Gertie the Bulldog]

yes, we were very fortunate to be able to quarantine her at home. We all know that our Bulldogs would not last longterm in a kennel without the proper care. According to our vet, generally rabies will show itself rather quickly, within a 14 day period. However there are cases in which it takes much longer for rabies virus to make its way to the brain and show symptoms - this could be up to 5 months. This is why they give the first vaccine at 5 months, and the booster at 6 months. Until than, at least we have her at home!!! She seems to have recovered for the most part.

 

[laurendoodler]

That sucks SO much!!! Man, I feel terrible for you guys. It is good that she gets to be at home, though.

 

[Fontanafox]

I assume she can go in the back yard, right? I guess I would make an agility setup and keep her busy physically and mentally.

 

[LariP]

Good luck through the rest of the quarantine. Wash down everything with vinegar and dawn dish soap. It will help de-skunk much faster. Ask [MENTION=959]kazzy220[/MENTION] she just went through a skunking of one of her dogs. Keep blogging Gertie!

 

[BruceP]

Welcome: to EBN!!! HRH wouldnt mind quarantine as that is all she wants to do any way... stay home. lol Good luck with it :D

 

[kazzy220]

Wow that really is awful .... I would have thought that if there was no direct physical contact with the skunk that there wouldn't be a chance of rabies being caught??

Anyway, try this to get rid of the smell on your bully. It was given to us by the Lorain emergency vets, and works like a miracle. Unfortunately, every time your bully gets wet the smell can reappear until they dry off again. That can last up to two years. At least this will get rid of the awful smell right now!!

1 quart hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
3-5 tablespoons dawn washing up

Use it as you would a shampoo when you bath him. Just keep it out of his eyes!

 

[Gertie the Bulldog]

thnaks for the washing suggestions, after a week the smell has not completely gone away. Yes, she can go outside in the backyard, but even though it is completely fenced in, I still supervise her. At night, only on the leash in the backyard.
Thanks for the recommendation to setup an agility course for Gertie FontanaFox. As it cools off come fall I definately will to this. For now, she has her little kiddie pool she plays in, it's just too hot now for her to run like she loves to do!!
I'm not a 4 Paws member at this time so I can't set up her blog on the forum, so please go to her site www.gertiethebulldog.wordpress.com to read her daily thoughts. Send replies back to make her feel happy!!!
Thanks All,
Steve

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

So, I just couldn't get that 6 month time frame out of my head. I did some digging and located the Massachusetts Rabies Control Plan for Cities and Towns. It looks like they are using the Rabies Protocol under Attachment 6 (page 30 of the document), specifically Exposure Category 4 since there was no bite or wound on Gertie.

• [*=1]Their definition of Exposure Category 3 says:
  
  • [*=1]Wound of unknown origin suspected to be caused by another animal (e.g. cat abscesses)

​

• [*=1]Their definition of Exposure Category 4 says:
  
  • [*=1]Exposure by proximity seen near or in close proximity to a confirmed rabid animal (no contact or wounds).

And to make things even more suspicious is that they appear to be using the Exposure Category 4 definition, but the Exposure Category 3 punitive measures.

Neither category should be enforced due to the lack of wound (EC3) and lack of a Conformed Rabid Animal (EC4), specifically wildlife in this case.

I say:

FREE GERTIE!!!

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http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/cdc/rabies/rcp_complete_plan.pdf