Litter of puppies euthanized after rabies exposure at adoption event

SHERIDAN, Colo. (KMGH) – An entire litter of puppies adopted from a Colorado rescue group had to be euthanized after one of the puppies tested positive for rabies.

The state’s Health Department said they are following national guidance, but the news has brought immense pain to families.

Every Saturday, Moms and Mutts Colorado holds adoption events, but on July 20, one of the litters had a puppy with rabies.

Jessica Eden and Keith Bryk adopted one of the puppies in the litter.

“We already knew which dog we wanted. We had come to a previous adoption event, saw him there like, ‘Oh, my God. We’re in love with him,’” she said.

Eden and Bryk said they later learned their puppy had been exposed to rabies.

“Well, the next day, I’m at work, I get a voicemail from MAMCO saying, ‘Hey, I’m so sorry. I just got notified that the state has decided that they need to euthanize all the puppies immediately. They’re coming to seize your puppies.’“ Eden said. “And within maybe 15 minutes, he was at home and he hears a knock on the door, so that was quite the whirlwind.”

They tried to fight it but ultimately had to put their dog down.

The rescue’s director Aron Jones said that one of the puppies went home with his adopted family and later started showing symptoms.

“He wasn’t symptomatic until much later, and so it was a full nine days,” she said.

Jones said safety measures are in place to prevent cross-contamination.

“Each puppy, if they’re on a tarp, that means they’re not fully vaccinated, which means our adopters need to wear a gown and gloves in order to touch them,” she said.

However, the state said because strict quarantine was not feasible, national guidelines advised all the puppies in that litter had to be euthanized.

Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said it is a tragic situation.

“We know that these puppies had very close contact for an extended period of time and so we know that there’s a high likelihood that the puppy that did test positive has potentially spread this virus to other puppies in the litter, so that’s the really tragic part of this story,” she said.

Health experts explain rabies is different from other viruses because there is a long incubation period, meaning it can take weeks to months or even longer for symptoms to occur from first exposure.

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