I read with interest the letter to Mr and Mrs. Les regarding Michigan's
policy on rabies.  Some 30 years ago, I was bitten by a dog who had gotten
into our backyard.  He got caught in the fence and was yelping and I
extricated him.  In the process I was bitten and he ran off.  Since we could
not find the dog (and believe me, we SEARCHED!), I underwent a series of
seven intra-abdominal injections.  It wasn't pleasant.  My parents wanted to
err on the side of caution which was why I took the minimum series.  The dog
who bit me was frightened and hurt.  He thought I was hurting him when I got
him untangled from that fence.  It didn't matter to me that I had to have
stitches.  Yes it hurt.  But I knew that he had not meant to bite me.  He
was only trying to defend himself from whatever was hurting him and he
thought it was me and not the fence..
 
As a ferret (and dog) owner (general critter person) who has been nipped
(skin broken) countless times, I have never had a problem other than that
one time.  Part of animal play is rough-housing and all my babies are sweet
and gentle..but when they rough-house, sometimes they accidentally get a
little over rambunctious.  Then we have time-outs and calm down time where
they are stroked and loved.
 
The question that has run through my mind countless times is this: If the
rabies virus is shed through the saliva, why hasn't some brilliant scientist
who does these studies come up with a simple saliva test that could be done
in a vet's office or a nearby lab..or a blood test.  Surely if the animal is
rabid, the virus would show in its blood sample, even before it exhibited in
the saliva (especially in the case of ferret bites).  I have never
understood why these people need to examine the brain of the biter (yes I
realize that the virus lodges in the brain).  Surely someone out there who
reads this and does ferret (or other animal) studies can come up with some
other way to test for rabies and save countless lives of our furry children.
 
Enough of my soap-box for this time.
 
Peanut says hi and dooks to all :-)
 
Judi (Peanut's mom)
[Posted in FML issue 1608]