Oh, I know, but that’s the best aprt - domesticated silver foxes lost most of the “nasty pee smell”, and they’re friendly and sociable like dogs. They’re not pack-oriented, but foxes do have social lives and enjoy play. The onyl downside si that they apparently share the odd genes that make some dogs have floppy ears and most dogs wag their tails, so they are a bit too similar. Still.
What you are missing is:
That is odd that your dog managed to kill the fox - I have dogs and live in an area where there’s a lot of foxes cruising around, and there’s no way I could imagine those critters ever being caught by any type of dog. They’re lightning, they’ll go through small gaps too small for dogs to get through at full pace and they’re quick to bolt. That’s why fox hunts use whole packs of trained dogs, and even then the fox usually manages to get away or go to ground long before the dogs can get to it. Maybe this fox your dog has killed was sick, injured or defending its cubs.
Yeah, 6 months seems rather excessive for a vaccinated pet.
I think our state does 45 days at-home quarantine (with re-vax and vet followup) for vaccinated pets. Non-vaccinated (or expired vaccinations) pets get vax plus a 6 month vet quarantine and followup, or euthanasia. Vaccinate your pets, folks.
The reason for the long quarantine is that the incubation period for rabies in dogs & cats can be up to 6 months. Typical incubation is listed at 3-8 weeks.
I believe the ten-day quarantines are usually for when a pet bites a human. It’s really, really rare for those domestic-animal bite cases to actually be rabies. (That’s for healthy pets - if your dog is showing symptoms, there’s a very good chance it will be put down and tested. AFAIK, all the quarantines are at the discretion of the state.) IIRC, the quarantine is shorter because the infectious period usually starts a fairly short time before symptoms show. IOW, if a dog bites you because it’s actively rabid, it’s going to show other symptoms soon.
OTOH, when the spousal unit worked at the vet, they had a bite case come in for a 10-day quarantine. The animal stayed longer because the owners were out of town or something. I think it was the 14th day that the critter keeled over…
BTW, when they say a “no-contact” quarantine, you know the techs do go in and talk to the animal, etc. They feel bad for them, too.
Yes, all of these laws are designed to protect HUMANS, not animals. There’s a reason for that. You know the famous rabies shots? As I remember it, they can be as little as 50% effective in cases of actual rabies exposure (depending on a lot of different factors). There are also a lot of bad side-effects possible from those shots. And, of course, there have been a grand total of two people survive actually developing rabies. It’s a nasty, nasty way to go.
Yeah, it’s a sad situation. But rabies is 100% fatal once symptoms develop. Rabies cannot be detected *until *symptoms develop.
Since it is almost impossible to deal with, secure and transport a dog without being exposed to it’s saliva, your dog owning friend and familiy’s health must be the first concern. The main resevoiur of rabies in the eastern US is racoons, which have regular interaction with foxes.
Bricker, I see you are in Northern Virginia, The first link is a rabies distribution map for the US. Hope the dog ends up fine, but rabies is nasty.
Oops, I misread Bricker’s post.
A quarantine for a KNOWN rabies exposure can be different from the quarantine for a “maybe”.
The quarantine period can also depend on a lot of other things like how bad the pet’s injuries are, how long before it got to the vet, etc.
Evidently just washing a surface wound for 10 minutes with soap and running water immediately after the bite drastically reduces the odds of developing rabies, because it washes the bad little whosamajigs out.
Kill the dog and any other fox you see. And while you’re at it kill anything else that comes into range.
I’d suggest more practice on foxes. Just because he’s killed one doesn’t mean he’s perfected his technique. Let him learn from a few more encounters, build up his skills, and soon enough, he’ll be ready for larger animals. Like bears.
I know I have to spend a lot of time with weaker enemies before I level up. I imagine it’s the same for a dog. Or at least roughly similar.
Yes, and the very next sentence is:
“As an alternative” = “Or”
I wonder if this is an older law covering more than just rabies and if the “up to” actually indicates it would be a much shorter period in the case of rabies.
Well, I read that as “Shall be destroyed…unless vaccinated. As an alternative to being destroyed because unvaccinated, may be quarantined for up to six months.”
Which implies to me “if vaccinated, destroyed/quarantined does not apply.”
Is that wrong?
I know nothing aout domesticated silver foxes, but have read a bit about dogs. I assume you’ve read of that Russian study where they bred foxes for temperament and very quickly ended up with something much like a dog? Fascinating stuff!
Appreciate the opportunity to flaunt my ignorance. Apparently the domesticated silver fox IS the result of the study I referenced. :smack:
That’s how I read that statute.
Virginia law provides that a bitten animal who is on record as having been vaccinated “shall be revaccinated immediately following the bite and shall be confined to the premises of the owner, or other site as may be approved by the local health department, for a period of 45 days.” Imagine being that owner and coming home each night, wondering precisely how Rover was going to greet you. An unvaccinated animal must be confined for six months or put down.
Bricker, for future reference, perhaps your friend and his dog could watch The Fox And The Hound together. This could be a teachable moment.
That’s how I read it. I just called my vet and was told that if the shots are current, and depending upon a physical examination, a booster shot and a quarantine of ten days was required. That quarantine may be at the owner’s home.
I’m sure it is possible my reading comprehension isn’t what it used to be, but I read the options based on those two sentences as euthanized or quarantined if not vaccinated.
OK, looks like my reading was the one off. Thanks.
Sorry to hijack, but this thread has me a bit confused. Some of you are talking about foxes, some about silver foxes. Are the ordinary foxes you get over in the US the same as what we get here?
I’m amazed that some people say they’ve never seen them in the wild. It’s a rare day that I don’t see at least one, usually two or three, on my five-mile commute home in the evening. Sometimes they just wander across the road in broad daylight, but they’re more commonly seen after dark.
(Never mind dogs: I remember once seeing my parents’ cat chasing a fox out of their garden. It was only a young fox, but still - go cat! 
)
Silver foxes are a “morph” of the red fox. The fur is black with white guard hairs, which gives it a silvery sheen.
Where is “here”? If that’s Britain, you have to remember that we’re a LOT more spread out over a LOT more land area than you are. It would be absolutely no problem for an animal, staying within its home territory, to never have to cross any kind of major highway. There’s so much space outside of cities/suburbs that it’s really easy for a small animal to hide very effectively.
Hell, even large animals. I’m guessing that most US Dopers have never seen a bear in person outside a zoo, either.