Rabies warning..upstate N.Y.

Yikes, thanks for the heads-up! Hope the dog is okay.

45 days?!  Isn't it usually 10?  Or is it more b/c they can confirm the skunk was rabid?  Sorry to hear this!

Was the dog up on his rabies shots or doesn't that matter?

ORIGINAL: Jewlieee

Was the dog up on his rabies shots or doesn't that matter?

I'd assume not, since Q is only 10 days with a valid shot, and it can be in your home. (Had a dog get exposed that way years ago.)

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You assume correct.They did not have the dog up to date.10 bucks at a local clinic could have avoided this.

For lurkers:   Here are two sites on rabies for those who need to be convinced to spend money on a rabies shot.  It is a horrible disease.
[size=1][link>http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/rabies/symptoms.shtml]www.animalhealthchannel.com/rabies/symptoms.shtml[/link][/size]
[link>http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/1100/1170.asp?index=5906&src=news]www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/1100/1170.asp?index=5906&src=news[/link][/size]
 
Sorry to be so blunt, but if you can't afford a rabies shot, you can't afford a dog.  Given that there have actually been wild coyotes in downtown NY, no one can say there is no chance that their pet will be exposed.
 
Especially during the day if you are approached by a wild animal (even a baby), always assume that the animal is sick - not friendly!!
 

More than 50% of all rabies cases in the United States involve raccoons. Skunks (22.5%), foxes (6.5%), and insectivorous bats (10%) are other common carriers. Rabies is rarely found in smaller mammals such as rabbits, squirrels, rats, and opossums. Domestic animals account for less than 10% of all cases in the United States.
 
Rabies remains a serious problem among domestic animals in certain parts of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Mongooses and vampire bats are common carriers in these areas.

Transmission
Rabies usually is transmitted through infected saliva as a result of a bite from an infected animal. Rarely, it is transmitted by viral contamination of a fresh wound, through a scratch, or through contamination of a mucous membrane (i.e., eyes, nose, mouth). There have been reports of rabies being transmitted through the air in bat-infested caves. 

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They did not have the dog up to date.10 bucks at a local clinic could have avoided this.

Can't they do a titer?  It is very likely that the puppy shot, plus the 1-year shot, give lifetime immunity.

Actually believe it or not they told them 45 days if the dog was vaccinated and 6 months if it wasn't....I thought it sounded crazy so i looked it up and found this ...

4. Q: What happens if my pet (cat, dog, ferret) is bitten by a wild animal?

A: Any animal bitten or scratched by either a wild, carnivorous mammal or a bat that is not available for testing should be regarded as having been exposed to rabies. Unvaccinated dogs, cats, and ferrets exposed to a rabid animal should be euthanized immediately. If the owner is unwilling to have this done, the animal should be placed in strict isolation for 6 months and vaccinated 1 month before being released. Animals with expired vaccinations need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Dogs and cats that are currently vaccinated are kept under observation for 45 days.

...something I had no clue of...I was always under the impression it was a 10 day thing too....learned something new i guess...I also had No idea it could take up to 6 months ....
The dog could stay home with them for the 6 months but they would have to have it enclosed for that time totally and not let anyone get near it....I don't know what is going to happen...I don't condone her for not having the shot...but i feel badly for the kids and the dog

The 45 day, 6 month thing is a AVMA recomendation.  I found that when I was looking for information about Rabies Titers.  I seem to remember that the reason that you always have to get the shot is that the rabies titer is not reliable.  But I can't find that at the moment.
 

Rabies gets very bad here in Texas, espeically from the Mexican border to a couple hundred miles inland--so many ranches are loaded with coyotes, fox, skunks, etc.  They even go so far as to fly around dropping rabies vax "laced" meats.  I grew up many, many years ago with my Dad and grandpa telling stories about rabid animals.
 
Back in about '57-58, my cousin was out in front of their house (farm on a dirt road) working on his car.  Went in and went to screened back porch to wash up in wash basin out there.  Just as he opened the screen door to step out onto the little unscreed porched, a snarling fox leaped at him.  C.R. got the screen slammed and the fox hit it.  About that time his sisters mutt came around the side of the house and attacked the fox.  It did run off.  They wre sure it has the rabies.  Poncho had been vaccinated, but they still had to have him in an enclosed pen for 6 weeks (42 days)  They had a small open front shed and my uncle built a 6 foot high wire fence with small gate acorss the front of the shed and Poncho was kept in there.  he got sun in the afternoon.  he was freed after the 6 week.s
 
A couple of days after the fox tried to get C.R., a neighbor up the road shot a fox and hung it on a barbed wire fence on the side of the road.  At the time he didn't know about what had happened up the road.  Well, that fox stayed right there, nothing tried to eat it.  We were sure it was the same one and probably even the buzzards new it has rabies and wouldn't touch it.

Oh man.. that is really bad news. I hate to hear that.

The most common mammals infected with rabies in our area are skunks and raccoons, but our coyote and fox populations are increasing.  It's only a matter of time until we have the same problems some other areas have with those species.  This should be a heads up to everyone not to slack when it comes to the rabies vaccine.  (I still don't have the dogs get rabies and other vaccines on the same day.)  My cousin's dog got attacked by a skunk and his vax was one day overdue, and she had the appointment for the next day - he was still quarantined.

When you are looking at 10 days vs 45 days/6 months, you are looking at
 
(1) how long it takes to see if a dog was already rabid when he/she bit someone vs
(2) how long it may take for the dog to develop rabies from the bite of another animal.
 
Quarantining a vaccinated dog for 45 days seems to indicate that
(1)  there is reason to believe that the vaccine isn't reliable and
(2)  there is reason to believe that a vaccinated dog will develop rabies faster than an unvaccinated dog if the vaccine fails.
Does anyone know of any documentation of these effects?  Especially #2 doesn't make sense to me.
 
If I had a titer showing that my dog had good protection against rabies, I would be very reluctant to report that he/she had been attacked by a wild animal if I knew that my dog would be quarantined.
 
Great Britain will now allow dogs to enter from the US without quarantine if the GB rules are met.  Read all the details if you plan to go, but basically it says that you have to
(1) microchip the dog - MUST be done first
(2) vaccinate for rabies (recording the microchip #)
(3) demonstrate a good titer (recording the microchip #)
(4) wait 6 months
(5) give boosters on time