Rabid Iraqi dog arrives in US - Page 1

This is a very bad practice of bringing dogs from all over the world, many of them strays and whose medical and vaccination background is unknown. Many rescue groups think they are doing something positive, but I think they should think again. They are exposing animals in many countries to diseases which, in some cases, either do not exist or have been almost eradicated. In other cases, they simply bring new strains or more virulent strains into the country. In the end, such irresponsible behavior will affect many people who have legitimate reasons and business to bring in animals because I guarantee new and more stringent regulations will be on the books sooner than later. This is a practice, however well intended, that should be terminated now.

Rabid Iraqi dog arrives in US;

Oct 3, 11:58 PM (ET) NEW YORK (AP) - Federal health officials have issued a public health warning against rabies after an Iraqi puppy with the disease arrived in the United States. The dog was part of a rescue operation to unite American soldiers with abandoned animals they adopted. Named Crusader, the puppy was among 24 dogs and two cats that arrived in Newark in June, The New York Times reported Friday. After falling ill, Crusader the pup was euthanized and a specimen from the dog was later diagnosed as rabies. The federal Centers for Disease Control says the other animals shipped around the country were tracked down. They are being held for six months in quarantine. So far, none has become sick.

The majority of dogs in Iraqi were not abandoned,  they were used as outside perimeter to alert if something strange was in the area.  They were fed just enough to keep them around for that purpose. Maybe some were pets in a loose sense of the word.  The introduction of diseases that they are a carrier of, are a very concern for many who have animals that do not have a resistance to. I do not understand why there was not a lengthy quarantine before entry into the States.  Human hearts can be very big but there are so many animals here that need the help too.

i to feel sorry for the troops to leave thier dogs behind as im sure they gave them comfort from the storm,how ever they are coming in with newcontagious problems that can and will spread to our animals   it seem to me we left our own dogs in veitnam army trained dogs and those guys loved thier dogs to.and i believe they eat dogs over there.last year we took abunch of dog from over there somewhere that were stray s and abandoned due to the war ,while the thought was good .i think we have enough dogs and cats with out homes right here at home USA that are put down every day so i would ask what the heck is the gov.thinking? take care of what we need to and leave those animals where they are at  give a vet a pet from home........

Let me clarify,,,,,,these were NOT official US canines, but rather dogs that people had rounded up, including some strays troops had adopted. No matter.... what matters is that there is NO QUARANTINE in the US mainland (there is in Hawaii) and it one talks to Atlanta Customs officials, for example, one knows this problem too is not isolated. Every day they are seeing dead dogs and other animals as well as some who are very ill upon arrival. Of course, such cases are immediately dealt with, but in this case, when animals do not present as ill upon arrival, they are allowed to go on their way. This is a very serious issue and one that will eventually affect all of us who have dogs because the world is shrinking via such practices, meaning diseases we never have had here will be on our doorstep and inside the house in time.

Diseases we have never had here before are here already, Hodie. Think West NIle Virus and other imported exotic diseases. They're here via container ships, shipping crews, commercial air crews and so on. We are just now getting into the dog viruses, I guess. And with people not vaccinating their pets (and kids too) due to fear of vaccinosis, it could be tragic for some. 

 You are correct Sam!!

There are other agencies that are involved in bringing these dogs cats to this country.I still refuse to give the west nile vaccination to my horses.There is so much coming in and no way to track it.Yep you are right Sam.Interesting conversation....I hope it continues.

This is also an issue with several rescue groups which I think it's ridiculous.  The new "trendy" thing is to save a pup from a 3rd world country or a country involved in a war.  I am absolutely baffled by people who have no problem with the fact that USA strays will be PTS because there aren't enough homes, but would rather get a 3rd world or war pup because the idea is so much more glamorous and  something they can brag about. 

Back to the topic, I can better understand the situtation when it is someone who was stationed in country and developed a relationship with the dog.  In that case I would want the person to be able to bring home their dog, but I would also want to see rules imposed to protect our domestic populations.

I hope we don't see a quarantine similar to the old Hawaiian system imposed here.  That would effectively put an end to the importation of GSD pups and adults from Europe, as well as the practice of taking bitches to Europe for breeding, even inhibit the ability of those breeders striving to follow the SV system of obtaining breed surveys prior to breeding.  In my opinion we don't have the same depth of quality (the variety of quality lines and breeders) of dogs as our European counterparts at this point in time.  We are certainly better than we used to be, but we are not "there" yet.  Imposing blanket lengthy quarantines would be the death knell of our breeds forward movement.  

Perhaps imposing quarantines on dogs from certain countries would be the answer, but not across the board.

When I bought a pup from Germany she was not yet old enough for her rabies shots.  I was allowed to take her home but had to sign various forms that stated she was to be quarentined at my house for a minimum of 30-days AFTER receiving her rabies shot.  She could only leave my property if she was muzzled, and basically only to the vets office for her health checks and shots.  I received follow up phone calls to find out if she was on the premis, had her shots yet, and if she had been anywhere.  In effect, there is a quarentine in place within the US, it's just you don't have to keep them at a quarentine center.  Of course the quarentine is only as good as the people the are willing to follow it.

This is probably going to sound naïve, but….

Exotic diseases aside, why were these animals not vet checked and vaccinated prior to their entry into the US? It stands to reason that if some groups are willing to incur exorbitant costs to bring them over, surely they can see that, at the least, the animals are checked for basic canine diseases and inoculated.  

Nevertheless, I agree with Hodie

Karen