A rabies outbreak has led to the tragic euthanasia of 11 puppies after one of them tested positive following an adoption event.
The infected puppy, originally from Texas, was part of a litter cared for by Moms and Mutts Colorado, a rescue specializing in pregnant and nursing dogs.
'We have adoption events every Saturday, and so it was a pretty normal day. It was a very slow adoption event, which in retrospect is a wonderful thing,' rescue director Aron Jones told local Fox affiliate KDVR.
Despite standard health checks and precautions before the adoption event in Sheridan, Colorado, the puppy was unknowingly exposed to rabies, likely from a deceased skunk found on the property of the previous owner.
The delayed discovery of the rabies case, due to lost test results from the skunk's remains, triggered a chain of events that culminated in the heartbreaking decision to euthanize the exposed puppies.
A rabies outbreak has led to the tragic euthanasia of 11 puppies after one of them tested positive following an adoption event (dog pictured not from euthanized litter)
The infected puppy, originally from Texas , was part of a litter cared for by Moms and Mutts Colorado , a rescue specializing in pregnant and nursing dogs (dog pictured not from euthanized litter)
'When we found out that the puppy was positive for rabies, I made a list of every person. We did contact tracing, so every person that I knew had come in contact with that puppy,' Jones said.
'Then, we reached out to everybody and just kind of told them what the diagnosis was.'
Jessica Eden and Keith Bryk had just adopted little Musubi, on July 20, and it was on Wednesday when they learned what had happened.
'The rescue contacted us and said that "Hey, we just got word that one of the puppies potentially has some exposure. We need you to come in. We're going to have a vet check him out and give him his first vaccination that day as well,"' Eden said.
The new dog parents had a glimmer of hope for Musubi, but were informed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment the next day that they had to quarantine their furry friend for 120 days.
Adoptive parents, such as Jessica Eden and Keith Bryk (pictured), who brought home puppy Musubi on Wednesday, were panicked as they were initially placed under quarantine.
'They said that since we had him for two weeks and he had been like kind of quarantined for a month, that it would go down to 90 days,' Eden said.
Their world was shattered when Moms and Mutts Colorado informed Eden while she was at work that animal control was coming to seize and euthanize Musubi.
'I was furious. I was panicked,' Eden said. 'I was ready to just do whatever we needed to do to protect him.'
The couple expressed frustration over unclear communication from health officials.
'They have never contacted us directly about anything. We found out everything either through MAMCO or through press releases or through things being taped to our door, such as them threatening us with jail time, with thousand-dollar fines,' Eden said.
The couple spent their last day with Musubi at the Foothills Animal Shelter so they could have some peace and privacy.
'As I handed off Musubi to this person who was vaccinated,' Bryk said, 'Musubi licked his face. The gentleman started petting him and as he walked away, Musubi's tail was wagging. He just loved people. He trusted us that we were handing him off to someone else.'
Jones said she is taking every precaution to make sure others are not exposed.
'We have video of everything, we have all the resources to show accurately that no one was exposed,' she said
Jones said this situation was are and unpreventable.
The new dog parents had a glimmer of hope for Musubi, but were informed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment the next day that they had to quarantine their furry friend for 120 days (the puppies pictured were not from the euthanized litter)
The couple spent their last day with Musubi (not pictured) at the Foothills Animal Shelter so they could have some peace and privacy
'This is a super rare, super isolated incident. There was nothing we could have done to prevent it, there was nothing we could've done to stop it. The important thing now is how we're handling it and that's by being completely transparent with the public,' Jones said.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has recommended rabies post-exposure prophylaxis—a series of rabies shots—for 17 individuals who had close contact with the infected puppies.
This includes foster families, veterinary staff, and shelter workers.
The department is continuing to monitor those who attended the adoption event and will provide rabies vaccinations as needed.
