If there was ever a reason to encourage the public to only buy pets from registered breeders or from your local Humane Society, this is surely it. It is believed that as many as 60 people came in contact with a rabid dog recently. The dog died on January 14th and an autopsy performed on January 17th showed that the dog was infected with rabies. This disaster all began with the purchase of an infected puppy from a flea market booth marked “Pets R Us”.

Unfortunately the infected puppy was in contact with 10 – 12 other dogs and health official believe that all of the dogs have been infected with the rabies virus. To date only 6 of the dogs have been located. Two of these dogs have already died. The remaining 4 have been placed in quarantine and will remain there for 6 months. Still at large are 3 border collies, one Yorkie cross, a Maltese, and another of an unknown breed. The search is on. This situation h-as the potential for dire consequences as evidenced by the information below.

Some facts about rabies:
• Rabies is fatal if untreated
• If treated early enough, the rabies vaccine is extremely effective
• Rabies can lie dormant in an infected animal for up to six months
• Humans can become infected by their pets even while the animals are asymptomatic
• Rabies is found in the saliva of animals and can be passed through a bite, cut, or scratch
• Rabies is highly contagious and a person could catch the rabies virus simply by playing with an infected animal
• Humans can not pass rabies to other humans
• The first signs of rabies in humans can present like the flu

Until the other dogs have been found, we are still at risk. The good news is that to date there have been no reported cases of rabies in humans. If you or anyone that you know came into contact with any puppy at Booth # 1513 at Dr. Flea’s flea market located at Highway 27 and Albion Road on January 13th please call you local health officials immediately at the phone numbers below.
Toronto Public Health: 416-338-7600
York Region Public Health: 1-800-361-5653
Peel Region Public Health: 905-799-7700