SHERIDAN, Colo. — Owners are left heartbroken after a litter of puppies exposed to a rabies-positive puppy during a Sheridan adoption event last month were told to surrender their dogs to be put down.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is contacting the people fostering the puppies about surrendering the 11 puppies for animal euthanasia.
The action is being taken after a puppy adopted from Moms and Mutts Colorado (MAMCO) Rescue for Pregnant and Nursing Dogs tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. The animal has since been euthanized.
NAMCO holds adoption events every Saturday, and one couple was ready to welcome a puppy into their home. On July 20, Jessica Eden and Keith Bryk took home Musubi, the puppy they had been eagerly waiting for. However, they soon learned their puppy could have been exposed to rabies.
"His name initially was Audio, but then we switched it to Musubi, which we've actually got our Musubi shirts on," Eden said.
The CDPHE shared on Friday that one of the puppies at this adoption event tested positive for rabies.
"One of the tragedies in this situation is that puppies typically aren't vaccinated against rabies until they're several months old. So these puppies were too young to be vaccinated when they were exposed to what we believe was an infected skunk," State Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said.
Aron Jones, the director of MAMCO, described the puppies' health and happiness when they arrived from Texas.
"He wasn't symptomatic until much later, and so it was a full nine days. I really feel like people need to understand how rabies is transmitted. It has to be a bite or a cut or scratch, something that's going to get into the blood. And it's not contagious until a dog is showing symptoms," Jones said.
CDPHE said it follows guidance from the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians. Since strict quarantine was not feasible, all of the litter had to be euthanized.
"What's really devastating in this situation, and our sympathies go out to anyone who's been attached to these puppies, we know that the foster families and folks that are adopting them have become very attached to them, and that's obviously what's really difficult in this situation," Dr. Herlihy said.
Eden and Bryk described their frustration after they thought they could quarantine their puppy.
"We actually consulted with a lawyer at that point to see if we can negotiate that time down from inside the facility to our home because typically, it looks like what they usually do is have 90 days in the facility and 30 days at home," Eden said.
Jones described the heartbreak this situation is also having on her staff and how the rescue has policies requiring people to wear gowns and gloves to protect the health of both adopters and dogs.
"We are really trying to inform the public that, yes, the state of Colorado is being extra cautious because we know that that puppy may have been exposed in Texas before it got here, and so they want to be extra cautious," Jones said. "But adopters cannot get rabies by being in the same room as a rabid animal. They have to actually pick up, and the dog has to make saliva contact with either their mouth or nose or an open cut. It's very unlikely that anybody was truly exposed during that event."
Eden and Bryk expressed their appreciation to MAMCO for helping them navigate this unfortunate situation, but ultimately, the two were left with heartbreak as they had to say goodbye to their puppy.
"I feel like we absolutely had this dog for a reason," Eden said. "I feel like this was something that we were entrusted with this dog because I think God just knew we were going to fight to the death for him."
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