A Colorado state epidemiologist is defending the decision to euthanize a litter of puppies after they tested positive for rabies.
DENVER — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) will not be changing any protocols regarding possible rabies exposure following the decision to euthanize 11 puppies, State Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said.
The state ordered 11 additional puppies to be destroyed after one of the litter tested positive for rabies after an adoption event in July. The owners were initially given the option to quarantine the new puppies, but the state later ordered them euthanized.
“Rabies is a very serious disease and we need to be very careful,” Herlihy said.
She said CDPHE changed course after receiving new information about the risk to the additional puppies, and because there is no way to test live dogs for rabies, officials made the decision to euthanize the additional puppies.
Subsequent testing revealed that one additional puppy tested positive for rabies. Ten dogs tested negative.
One of the dogs belonged to Jess Eden, who said she was disappointed with the state’s decision to stick with the current rules.
“When they say what they did was fine, it makes you realise they actually have no empathy or compassion for the situation,” Eden said. “They had no empathy or compassion whatsoever. They probably weren’t even going to suggest quarantine.”
Eden said she had been informed by the state that quarantine or euthanasia were options, but she was unclear why the state reversed its decision to allow quarantine.
“I find it very ironic that they were telling me they were following their policy and then they weren’t actually following it,” she said. “I think if they need to change something, they need to take responsibility for actually following the policy and be consistent with that. They need to be consistent in their communication with families and respect their right to make their choice.”
