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Rabid dog attacks wildlife officer in Izard County |
 MELBOURNE
- How many times have you heard the saying, “You’re chances of winning
the state lottery are about as good as being bitten by a rabid dog”?
Wildlife Officer Ryan Warner probably will never make that statement
again. On Aug. 12, Officer Warner was bitten by a dog in Wideman that
later tested positive for rabies.Little Rock Dispatch radioed Officer Warner and told him a woman had called the Izard County Sheriff’s Department to report that her dog had been acting strangely. Since deputies would not be immediately available, Officer Warner was happy to assist the woman. When Warner arrived at the home and stepped out of his truck, the dog immediately ran up from behind him and sank its teeth into his leg. As soon as he realized what was happening, Warner drew his pistol and began backing away from the dog, yelling at it and hoping it would back down. When the dog began charging him again, he had no choice but to put the dog down. After the horrific scene, the dog’s owner came out of the house and said the dog had been very aggressive and disoriented all morning. The normally quiet dog killed four of her pet cats when she finally made the call for help. She also said that the dog had not been vaccinated against rabies and she suspected that it might have caught the disease. Officer Warner immediately called a local doctor, who explained that the dog’s body would have to be tested before any treatment could be done. Tests concluded that the dog was rabid and that Officer Warner did the right thing by putting it down. Warner is undergoing treatment for his injury and the virus. For many people, watching Cujo on the midnight movie is as close as they’ll come to actually encountering a rabid animal. According to the Arkansas Department of Health, more than 1,000 animals were taken to their public health lab for rabies testing in 2004. Fifty-four of those animals tested positive for the disease and only five were dogs. But rabies still exists, and it’s no laughing matter. Rabies is a fatal viral disease carried by mammals and is almost always transmitted by a bite. The treatment for rabies infection in humans includes five injections within a month. Without treatment, the virus will lead to muscle spasms, delirium and death within one to two months. To learn more about rabies and how to identify its symptoms, log on to www.healthyarkansas.com/services/rabies_main.htm or call the Veterinary Public Health Office at (501) 661-2893. |
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