Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
I have read other posts on here and so I know the chances are pretty low that I was infected with rabies. However, my situation doesn't happen too often given that I was bitten inside of a restroom at a Walmart. So I'm just gonna lay out the facts and see what people have to say. This happened a week ago tonight for what it's worth.
1.) A big German Shepherd, owned and on leash by his owner, were coming around the bend of the restroom proceeding to exit. I happen to be entering and as both of us got close, the dog proceeded to bite me real quick.
2.) I was wearing some Hyper Tough gloves (those lime green ones with polyester material on top of hand), and no damage was made to glove.
3.) The bite "wound" itself was maybe the size of the base end of an eraser in terms of roundness. A bit of redness but no bleeding really.
4.) The Doctor totally dismissed rabies and gave me Tetanus shots and x-rays of hand. He said if any symptoms were to show, they'd deal with them. Not exactly reassuring since it'd be too late then...
5.) The dog apparently comes in frequently and no other incidents occurred before that night or during the night this happened. Again, just saying this fact in case it helps cement things.
Re: Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
First...why was there a dog in Walmart?
I had something similar happen to me a month or two ago. Random dog on a trail greeted me then proceeded to put my whole hand in its mouth. It didn't bite but I felt my hand graze teeth. There was no blood or cut, but there was a red mark (maybe from friction) that went away the next day. I was with my kids and their friends and I didn't even think to ask for info. She had two dogs with her, they were pretty frou frou, and I would be shocked if not vaccinated and under a vet's care. Still, something like that does make you wonder....
After a little discomfort, I am basically at peace with this incident. I do sometimes check the rabies report for my state and the county I was in, lol! No dogs have died of rabies yet!!!
Your situation seems a lot like mine, only the saliva would have been buffered in your case by the glove. I don't think you have cause to worry. You could probably check to ask if the dog comes in in the next 10 days, then you will know you are fine and no exposure definitively.
I used to be such a dog person, constantly excusing this sort of canine behavior (since I once had a badly behaved dog that I loved like my own child!), but now I am just kind of like WTF??? Why do these people bring dogs around people if they can't behave?
Re: Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
NervUs
First...why was there a dog in Walmart?
I had something similar happen to me a month or two ago. Random dog on a trail greeted me then proceeded to put my whole hand in its mouth. It didn't bite but I felt my hand graze teeth. There was no blood or cut, but there was a red mark (maybe from friction) that went away the next day. I was with my kids and their friends and I didn't even think to ask for info. She had two dogs with her, they were pretty frou frou, and I would be shocked if not vaccinated and under a vet's care. Still, something like that does make you wonder....
After a little discomfort, I am basically at peace with this incident. I do sometimes check the rabies report for my state and the county I was in, lol! No dogs have died of rabies yet!!!
Your situation seems a lot like mine, only the saliva would have been buffered in your case by the glove. I don't think you have cause to worry. You could probably check to ask if the dog comes in in the next 10 days, then you will know you are fine and no exposure definitively.
I used to be such a dog person, constantly excusing this sort of canine behavior (since I once had a badly behaved dog that I loved like my own child!), but now I am just kind of like WTF??? Why do these people bring dogs around people if they can't behave?
Because the guy apparently said it was a service dog. It had no tags or vest and it bit me so definitely not a service dog. And yeah, the gloves would definitely stop the saliva right? I don't know if they could squeeze through the very small holes in the fabric of the glove because light can be see through the glove if you hold it up to light but that's the design of the glove.
I think the dog fear bit me? Because i have only the one tiny mark and if it really were meaning to bite me, i'd have more severe of a bit I would think. Walking around the wall of a bathroom and seeing a dog might be scary, but i feel maybe it was more scary for the dog and it bit me due to fear or protective of owner?
I see a doctor for follow up but he already said i'm good. I'm gonna try and see if he wants to do shots for me since dog's status can't be confirmed. Not likely he'll order shots for me and even if they do, my work wouldn't like having to pay for them. (i'm on workmans comp)
Re: Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
I’m not trying to be snarky here, OP, but how is this different from all the other rabies posts on here (except unless you’re referring to the invisible bat ones)? The bite didn’t even break your skin. You aren’t even sure it was a bite. You had gloves on. This isn’t rabies exposure because there was no exposure.
Re: Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
Heard, read and dismissed... :lac:
Positive thoughts
Re: Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
I don't know if the skin was broken or not because apparently even if the skin didn't bleed, there still can be a break. The wound looked kind of like a scab if anything but it was mostly flat. Hell, it's been a week and the wound has almost fully healed.
How much did the polyester material gloves help in this situation, given that they did not suffer any damage? Not to mention I didn't feel any wetness at all.
The only real concern I have is the not knowing the status of the dog as well as there not being tags despite having an owner and leash/collar.
Re: Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
Here’s the thing....for there to be any risk at all the dog would have had to have rabies first. Rabies in domestic animals in the US is quite rare. There’s absolutely no way that somebody is walking around your local wal mart with a rabid German Shepherd.
Re: Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
AMomentofClarity
Here’s the thing....for there to be any risk at all the dog would have had to have rabies first. Rabies in domestic animals in the US is quite rare. There’s absolutely no way that somebody is walking around your local wal mart with a rabid German Shepherd.
Yeah, that's what calms me down as of late. I've gotten more calm since the bite happened. It's just down to this though: If the dog was rabid, it would actually legit bite me and cause a serious injury, and even attack it's owner too? But if it wasn't displaying symptoms but had rabies in it, it wouldn't transmit anyways. A bit confusing.
But yeah, I see my doctor for a brief follow up today. I doubt much will come out of it but i have to go since it's through workmans comp.
Re: Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
There is between 1 and 3 cases of rabies in humans a year in the United States. That is between 1 in 100 million chance to 1 in 300 million chance.
Your odds of winning the Powerball if you play is 1 in 175 million.
Your odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 7000 in a given year.
I think you are good.
Re: Rabies concern but hear out my post please.
Do you know the dog and its owner? If the dog is alive and healthy a week after such a incident it does not have rabies and you are 100% safe.
Besides; I thought all domestic dogs in the US were required to be vacinated? You have all possible good odds with you.