My neighbor's unvaccinated dog bit me

[Nanners]

I am trying to decide whether to go ahead and start the rabies shot series, and I'm finding contradictory information. Is is really safe to wait out the 10 day quarantine period? What would you do? Dying of rabies would be kind of a bummer, so I'd like to avoid that, ya know?

[GuildJenn]

I faced this myself when my dog was bit by a raccoon and I got involved and got exposed to the raccoon saliva myself with a fresh unrelated cut on my hand. As you clearly know the chances of getting rabies are really low but if you get it it's a horrible painful death.

I did not wait out the period. I started shots as soon as I could get them, which took a couple of days.

What convinced me was a coworker who had seen people die of it in India and I did the course of shots. It wasn't fun, I won't lie. But it was worth it for the peace of mind - and 3 years immunity! The shots were not in the stomach. The first one was at the site of the wound and after that it was in the arm or thigh.

One thing you can check on is if the dog was vaccinated in the last _three_ years you're good. Even though they say to get the booster every year, they are protected for 3. My dog was; it was just unfortunate that I was not.

[seagull]

What is the recommendation from your city's health district? It really depends on the prevalence of rabies in your area. Is it an indoor dog? Has it ever had a rabies vaccine?
I underwent the vaccine series after a feral cat attacked my leg. I had horrible side effects, but they resolved after a few months. The county health where I got bit said that I definitely needed vaccines, but I was treated at a hospital in another county that recommended 10 day quarantine of the animal. It wasn't possible to capture the animal alive. I had 3 shots done by the time the negative test was back.

[Arduinna]

Honestly, I wouldn't even worry about it. The average backyard city and suburb dog has an infintismal chance of having rabies. Maybe if you checked out the rates of rabies reports in your state it would ease your mind?

[Zoesmama]

Dogs are very rarely found to carry rabies anymore unless they get bit by a racoon, bat or other animal that has rabies.

Bats are the biggest carrier in many states. I was exposed to a rabid bat. It fell in the Home Depot my ex worked at he brought it home. We didn't touch it directly nor got bit. I made him take it outside and called the health department who had fish and game come get it and test it. It came back positive. The office unfortunately closed and I ended up spending with major medical bills to get them in the ER> ARGH! So go through health department to see if many problems have been found in the area/county. We had no insurance at that time. We had transitioned from another employer plan and couldn't afford the COBRA cost.

If the dog is kept inside mostly and supervised for outdoor times its highly unlikely the dog would have rabies.

The shots themselves didn't give me any adverse reactions. DD had no issues with them. Honestly we had more issues with tetanus shots than this series. They are VERY VERY expensive shots though so if any risk is in the county you may want to demand they help cover your costs.

Oh and to put it in perspective the larger wild animal containing rabies in my city is bats. And the likelihood of exposure is that of winning the state lotto. I say, I want my lotto winnings. LOL

Good to know if I was to have an exposure only 3 shots is recommended for already vaccinated persons. Or in case I went spelunking or wanted to work in animal health I'd probably only need a booster.