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Show Immunizations could save pets lives All pet owners shouldbe a ware-that adog was put to death in Provo last week simply becauselt ffiay-have had contact with a rabid bat. The bat was found in a back yard, examined at the Utah Department of Health Labratory in Salt Lake City where a study of the bat's brain tissue confirmed that it was infected with rabies. It's not unusual for a bat to suffer from such contamination. con-tamination. Any bat bite is cause for concern. Other , probable carriers in this area of the disease are skunks, raccoons, foxes and other wild members of the dog family. The point we're trying to make, however, is that the pet dog that was destroyed need not have died, had, it been properly immunized for rabies. It's one precaution that pet owners should always take to prevent infection of this deadly and dangerous disease. ' , Those pets should also be kept on a leash or confined to keep them away from possible carriers of the disease, as well, as added precautions. As an added note, if humans or domesticpets comeJn contact with any of the wild animals listed above, by being bitten, scratched or even licked, the wild animals should be killed without , amaging the head, anc reported to the Health Depar urent. The head should be refrigerated an transported to che department's Salt , Lake labratory for testing. If a domestic pet bites a person, it is quarantined for 10 days' observation to rule out the disease. If the animal, wild or domestic, cannot be found, the human will probably have to undergo preventive treatment for rabies, which is painful and prolonged. The bottom line is that rabies is one disease where prevention is much more preferable to cure - since for a human the cure is painful, and for the pet, the cure is death. It's an obligation every pet owner should take care of as soon as possible, if he or she hasn't done so already. |