April 2014 Articles

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Just Rambling April 2014

Just Rambling: If you read my last month’s Just Rambling then you know that my dog, Abbey and I had some real health problems in February. Since last month Abbey and I have both pretty much recuperated. She still limps a little from the leg injury and I still have some chest congestion that I don’t seem to be able to get rid of (not related to the vertigo I had) but both of us have seen a lot worse times so I guess you can say we are doing real good. The second day I let Abbey out after her recuperation, she disappeared. I was getting cattle feed ready for our morning feeding which she never wants to miss. I fed both groups of heifers and the bulls, still no Abbey. I went back to the feed shed to call for her and honk my truck horn—still no Abbey. I couldn’t imagine what could have happened but decided to go back home. Just as I was driving off I saw her coming across the pasture with something in her mouth. I immediately stopped the truck to meet her. To my surprise she had a raccoon in her mouth which she had caught and killed. She dropped it at my feet then she jumped in the truck. After she got in the truck she looked at me with a look of happiness and as if to say, “I’m back!” If you have a special pet then you understand how great I feel to have my Abbey back but if you don’t have a special pet you may want to get one. They are fun to have around and provide great companionship. Since my youngest daughter, Blair, moved to La. Tech in Ruston this fall and my wife is spending a lot of time helping take care of her father, who is seriously ill, the empty nest syndrome has really kicked in with me. I find myself talking to our 16 year old cat (Boots) at night and my dog Abbey during the day. They are very good listeners and rarely do they argue or talk back except in a loving way. Can’t beat that, can you?

One night during March I was watching one of the NCIS shows which was about this young boy dying of rabies and his older brother watching him suffer through the agony of the disease. The reason this caught my attention and was somewhat frightening is because I was bitten by a rabid fox when I was a junior in high school. During this show it was stated that if medical attention wasn’t received within the first 24 hours, in practically all cases it was too late for treatment. There have been a few cases that are an exception to this rule, but very few. This really interested me because when I was bitten, I was on a camping trip with five other guys. We were camping during Thanksgiving holiday on Bayou Deloutre in Union Parish. It was after midnight and we had all gone to bed in our tent. We were sleeping on cots. Before going to sleep we heard my bluetick dog, Blue, treeing a raccoon further down into the Bayou Deloutre bottom. We decided to go kill the raccoon. Everyone got off their cots to crawl through the tent door. I was the last to get off my cot and when I did something bit me under my left arm. It was dark in the tent—I couldn’t see what had latched on to me so I grabbed it. I really thought it was a bobcat based on the screaming but I couldn’t tell due to the darkness. As I crawled out of the tent four of the other guys helped choke the fox off me. They killed it by beating it over the head with a coke bottle, which caused blood to spatter on them. The fifth guy ran and didn’t get close to the fox or the killing of it. It was approximately 2 a.m. so we decided to break camp, pack up everything and go to the little hangout in Spearsville to play pinball. We thought it was too early to disturb our parents and that it would be best to discuss the nights events with them around 8 a.m. As we were about to leave for Spearsville I caught my dog and put him in the dog crate on the truck and lay the fox on top of the crate. The pinball machines in Spearsville were left out under a shed attached to the fast food café. No one ever bothered or tampered with them. Can you imagine what would happen to them today? They wouldn’t last a night! When we got to Spearsville, it was approaching 3 a.m., our plan was to play pinball until 8 a.m. We knew all the parents would be out of bed by that time. What could they do at that time of night anyway? For about 5 hours we did exactly as we planned, then 8 o’clock came and it was time to tell my parents. As I walked into the house telling them what happened my Mother began to cry and my Father was furious with me. He immediately called the Health Department in Farmerville, informing them of the situation and that he and I were on our way with the fox. The Health Department told us that they had to test the fox for rabies and they would be in contact with us. About the time we arrived home we received a call from the Health Department stating that the fox did have rabies and that I was to start the shots immediately. Not only me but all the other guys with me because if they touched the fox, got blood or salvia on them, then they could become infected. My dog also had to be quarantined for 2 weeks. Everyone agreed to take the shots except the guy that ran. He said he didn’t get close and believe me he didn’t. We started the shots that day at the local clinic in Bernice, La. Everyone had to take fourteen shots in the stomach, one a day and I had to take a tetanus shot as well. The shots really didn’t hurt when they gave them but a few minutes later it felt as though you had a blow torch in your stomach. We made the best of a bad situation though. We were interviewed by the local newspaper and they wrote a long article about us. We were the talk of the local communities in Union Parish and even other areas. This was before cell phones (way before cell phone) and internet but can you imagine how this would have spread if cell phones and the internet had been available. I can see it now—video gone viral. We would probably have become famous, except for Pete who ran and didn’t take the shots. I guess the others would have been smart to run but I am sure thankful they didn’t because I might never have gotten the fox detached from me. I am also very thankful to Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux for developing a vaccine for rabies in 1885. Almost all human cases of rabies were fatal until this vaccine was developed. See why I am so thankful to Pasteur and Roux.
According to Wikipedia, Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute inflammation of the brain in humans and other warm-blooded animals. The time period between contacting the disease and the start of symptoms is usually one to three months; however can be less than one week or more than one year. The time is dependent on the distance the virus must travel to reach the central nervous system. Early symptoms may include: fever and tingling at the site of exposure. This is then followed by either violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, and fear of water or an inability to move parts of the body and confusion followed by loss of consciousness. In both cases once symptoms appears it nearly always results in death. Death usually occurs within days of the onset of these symptoms. Once a person begins to exhibit signs of the disease, survival is rare. To date less than 10 documented cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been reported and only two have not had a history of pre- or post exposure prophylaxis.
The disease is spread to humans from another animal, commonly by a bite or scratch. Infected saliva that comes into contact with any mucous membrane is also a risk. Globally most cases are the result of a dog bite with this being the cause in more than 90% of cases in countries where dogs commonly have rabies. In the Americas and Australia, less than 5% of cases are from dogs, with bats being the most common cause. Rodents are very rarely infected. The rabies virus travels to the brain by following the peripheral nerves. The disease can also be diagnosed after the start of symptoms. Hydrophobia ("fear of water"), is the historic name for Rabies. It refers to a set of symptoms in the later stages of an infection in which the victim has difficulty swallowing, shows panic when presented with liquids to drink, and can't quench its thirst. Saliva production is greatly increased, and attempts to drink, or even the intention or suggestion of drinking may cause excruciatingly painful spasms of the muscles in the throat and larynx. Van Bennett
Sources: Wikipedia and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)