This morning, I read an article claiming that a dog was euthanized after being tested for rabies. On the surface, that seems reasonable because rabies is 100% fatal. However, the rabies test is also 100% fatal. The rabies test requires that sections of brain tissue be sectioned for viewing under a microscope for infected cells. The process of accessing those cells in the brain caused the animal’s death. The media confuses the issue when reporting the news of a rabies test, making it sound like a simple procedure.
In most cases, health departments that conduct rabies tests don’t want to dispose of the animal’s body and ask that the sample be delivered to them containing just the head. Only the head. So, it is clear that animals are not euthanized “after” a rabies test.
This is one of the risks that pet owners take when they decide not to vaccinate their pets; should the animal bite a child; the only way to see if the child didn’t contract rabies is to “test” the animal. And now, we know what that means. A rabies test is a surefire way to stop an animal from biting any more kids.