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Ebola dog dead: Spanish social media users grieve as nurse's pet is put down
ROSE TROUP BUCHANAN
Wednesday 08 October 2014
Spanish authorities have put down the dog belonging to the Spanish nurse infected with Ebola, prompting an online outpouring of grief.
Excalibur was put down at 2.30pm today at the Veterinary Hospital of the Complutense University of Madrid, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported.
Health authorities acted after Teresa Romero Ramos, a nursing assistant who treated two Spanish missionaries before their deaths after returning from Africa with Ebola, also contracted the often fatal disease.
Her husband Javier Limon, who has been placed in quarantine, contacted local media to object to the decision by Madrid's department of health to destroy the dog.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ebola-dog-dead-spanish-social-media-users-grieve-as-nurses-pet-is-put-down-9782748.html
Gothmog
(145,965 posts)I feel bad for that poor dog
get the red out
(13,468 posts)I would break out of quarantine and go on a fucking kissing spree, starting with the people who had my dog killed.
CBGLuthier
(12,723 posts)Really what a mean shitty thing to even suggest a human being do. .
get the red out
(13,468 posts)That's exactly what I would want to do. I'm not shitty, I just give more of a damn about pets than most human beings. Just a FACT. Anything you say about me is just a judgement.
Humanity is a worse virus on this planet than Ebola could ever be.
BlindTiresias
(1,563 posts)Condemn a bunch of strangers to an agonizing death over a dog?
Misanthropy like yours has no place in any left or progressive movement.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)get the red out
(13,468 posts)I don't think we can firmly dictate who can be allowed into progressive land. Besides, look at the environment? That's the human race happily doing that to itself and every living thing on the planet. We've got nothing to boast about as humans.
BlindTiresias
(1,563 posts)Wanting to condemn random members of the common people to an agonizing death because your puppy got euthanized pretty cleanly excludes you from the realm of progressives. I think the consensus will side with me on this.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)The progressive ideas I believe in are numerous, that isn't something you can get some gang together and take away.
ecstatic
(32,798 posts)that all of us share is compassion and concern for the wellbeing of others (though we sometimes hate the people standing in the way of progress). That's the whole point of being progressive. Have you considered the possibility that maybe your views are more libertarian?
get the red out
(13,468 posts)I fully support helping others, I want a firm, unshakable safety net, I want free education, I don't want the US to police the world, I want war money used for our infrastructure. I really like the idea of single-payer healthcare. I want to lift the people of our country out of virus-mind into a better consciousness through helping them with our tax dollars rather than wasting money on war. I want money out of politics and massive fines on businesses that take companies overseas. I am quite close to being a Socialist, if I'm not there already.
There ya go! Not at all Libertarian. I don't have to like the most wretched (probably a LOT) of humanity to want humanity to improve. My statement was a rage at humans behaving like a virus killing an innocent dog. I rage over that, and yes, I am caustic and vengeful. But I want better, I don't want most of humanity to remain a virus on this planet. I would be quite vengeful if I were the couple whose dog was killed and I applaud the higher consciousness of the people of Spain who protested the poor animal's killing.
Think what you want of me; I know who I am.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)I frankly don't care what lame ass rationale you possess ... Your 'liberalism' is highly questionable ...
get the red out
(13,468 posts)I fully respect your freedom of speech.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)of her dog.
Big difference there.
No difference in my mind then condemning the hypothetical killers of my hypothetical child.
BlindTiresias
(1,563 posts)Including but not limited to the killers of her dog. That implies harming people who have nothing to do with it.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)the first thing I would do is find homes for all my animals, so if I turned up symptomatic they would be safe.
Fuck those idiots that killed Excalibur.
And why, since they were intent on killing, did they not at least do it in the safety and peace of his home? Humanely euthanised, my ass. He must have been terrified to be dragged away from his home by strangers in strange coverings.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)Thank you for a kind response to me, magical thyme, my heart broke for Excalibur. I didn't know they didn't even do it in his home, with his other human with him, now my heart breaks more.
Once again, thank you for not treating me as if I were Satan incarnate for my love of pets.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)to get him to their van. Presumably if they were carrying his body in a body bag, they wouldn't have had to do that.
Hundreds of protesters tried to physically intervene.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)They are the kind of people we need more of in the world. I respect what they did more than I can express. His little body in a bag.............................
Now I am terrified of Ebola, if it will cause a demand that our pets be killed. The people of this country are too complacent to oppose much.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)just look at various posters on DU.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)That proves to me I have reason to fear, not Ebola as much as people's reactions to it and what a threat that might pose.
At least this thread prompted me to use the "block" feature. I had absolutely no one blocked until this morning. I was neglecting an available DU asset.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)with new criteria. It's been growing rapidly lately.
It's no longer about people who get nutty with me. If someone is excessively snarky or mean-spirited toward anybody, I don't care who, onto ignore they go. If they post stupid pictures of 'crying blond girl' or other stupid photoshops in lieu of intelligent discourse, onto ignore they go.
I wring my hands over the dog-haters. On the one hand, feel the need to engage in order to counter their made up factoids with information to protect the uninformed from their bigotry. On the other hand, would prefer to just eliminate them from my life.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)I am quite passionate when it comes to feminism and pets, especially dogs. I can't abide misogyny and I can't abide those who put no value on the lives of pet animals. People can agree or not, but those are personal values and I refuse to change them, which pisses people off to no end, especially if I post what I REALLY feel.
I am going to have to remember to make much more use of "block".
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)but his human was not there because they had already taken him away to quarantine.
Apparently when his people were taken away to be quarantined, they left him alone in the apartment with a bathtub full of water and 30 pounds of dogfood, with access to the little terrace he's been photographed on.
The authorities didn't want to leave him there alone for 21 days, and were unwilling to take him away alive to a quarantine facility.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-10-08/mourning-excalibur-the-ebola-dog
Rhinodawg
(2,219 posts)shenmue
(38,506 posts)This was ridiculous and totally unnecessary. It sounds to me like they didn't even test the dog. Dumb asses, if the dog was a carrier and wasn't sick, virologists could have studied him to find out if there was something about him that would help humans with this disease. So depressing. Spain is on my shit list.
LisaL
(44,985 posts)They could have at the very least tested the dog while keeping the dog in isolation. To see if the dog actually had the virus.
It was cruel and completely unnecessary to kill the dog.
They quarantine dogs to make sure they don't have rabies, even if you show proof from the vet that it's up to date on it's shots. Thats a 10 day quarantine. A few days longer for Excaliber would have been feasible. They could have isolated him in the rabies unit for the incubation period. Poor animal. The Spanish government apparently ignored the petition with hundreds of thousands signatures on it from around the world.
I'm also sure that there were probably many people willing to foster the dog through the incubation period and until his owner got well. Makes me sick to think about it, truly.
LisaL
(44,985 posts)They couldn't quarantine the poor dog and test it to see if killing the dog was necessary?
His owner (the nurse) might not get well.
They didn't treat her for a week (they didn't test her for Ebola), and now she is in very poor shape.
jen63
(813 posts)once the quarantine period had ended, there would be people crawling out of the wood work to adopt that precious dog. There was absolutely no reason to euthanize him. Totally unconscionable in my opinion. May they rot in hell.
LisaL
(44,985 posts)Like nurses's husband said, he himself is possibly infected, are they going to euthanize him next?
jen63
(813 posts)perspective; is what the poster below said. Sickening. They are helpless and depend on humans to take care of and love them. That's all they want. There are many sentient animals among us, I just can't handle animal cruelty. Like the saying goes, "the way you treat animals is how you treat people." I can't bear to imagine how the people who are associated with people who have no regard or empathy for an animal are treated at home.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)jen63
(813 posts)Animals are my weakness. They depend on us and when we betray them like many do, the word sociopath comes to mind. Thank you for caring.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)notrightatall
(410 posts)fer f*ck sake. Perspective!!!!!!
get the red out
(13,468 posts)And we are bad people if we do.
I hate fucking, no-good humans. Scourge of the planet. WE are the virus, much worse than Ebola.
notrightatall
(410 posts)get the red out
(13,468 posts)I just don't give a fuck about yours, that's all.
notrightatall
(410 posts)get the red out
(13,468 posts)Labs are cool dogs.
notrightatall
(410 posts)get the red out
(13,468 posts)I respectfully go to hell where you can feel superior to me in your heavenly palace oh Godly one
Personally though, anyone who would eat a dog shouldn't be breathing air. IMO. And anyone who would support eating a dog is a total piece of shit, beneath contempt of civilized people, and a SOB of the highest order, whether they can spell or not.
notrightatall
(410 posts)get the red out
(13,468 posts)Did you eat the suit?
notrightatall
(410 posts)get the red out
(13,468 posts)Her family hits the cutting board too.
notrightatall
(410 posts)TDale313
(7,820 posts)Dogs and cats are companion animals, especially in the west.It is generally considered impolite to kill and eat your friends.
notrightatall
(410 posts)Lancero
(3,018 posts)Because it is apart of their culture? More specifically, what do you think of such culture?
get the red out
(13,468 posts)And I don't care what you think about it. I will be honest no matter if you think I am a fool. I will keep my opinions and not run scared. I live liberal in a conservative state, what can liberals I disagree with say to me I haven't hear already? Everyone has a right to their opinions and no disregard of mine will change mine. This is one of those times that I see liberals requiring lock step the same as conservatives.
notrightatall
(410 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)I would not eat dog. To me, dogs are companions. I also understand that what are considered pets and what are considered food varies in different parts of the world.
11 Bravo
(23,928 posts)got lost in the mail. I'll even go farther out on a limb with my supposition that Will Rogers never met you.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)I'm not an ass kisser enough for that book, don't give a darn about Will Rogers, that was my Grandpa's time.
I don't much care to be a lying phony, to be honest.
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)I immediately recognized it as one of the local attractions-- the Ushiku Daibutsu statue, near Narita (Tokyo) International Airport
http://attrip.jp/75173/
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)sentient beings and yes that includes dogs.
notrightatall
(410 posts)linuxman
(2,337 posts)get the red out
(13,468 posts)snooper2
(30,151 posts)"When I asked him if he was going to eat dog today, he was like- YEP!"
VICE
MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)Did not need to happen! RIP precious doggie.
Electric Monk
(13,869 posts)(snip)
To date, there is no documented case of Ebola spreading to people from dogs or dogs to people, and only one study, carried out by the CDC, looks at whether dogs can get Ebola at all. This research into the prevalence of Ebola-virus antibodies in dogs from regions of Gabon affected by the 20012002 outbreak showed that dogs can be infected by Ebola virus but exhibit no symptoms and the infection eventually clears.
The researchers concluded that dogs could be a potential source of human Ebola outbreaks and of virus spread during human outbreaks, but they did not test their hypothesis that human infection could occur through licking, biting or grooming. Instead, the study assumed dogs would transmit the infection in the same way as other animals observed in experiments; those animals excreted viral particles (in saliva, urine, feces) for a short period before the virus was cleared. David Moore, an expert in infectious diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that since no dogs showed symptoms of the Ebola virus there is absolutely no evidence to support a role for dogs in transmission.
The study also suggests that differences in behavior and diet of pet dogs may alter risks in Ebola transmission. Whereas most dogs in Western Europe are fed dog food, many of the dogs studied in Gabon scavenged for their food, eating small dead animals that could have exposed them to the virus.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)Those too liberally superior to care about pets will use anything to beat dog lovers over the head with on message boards.
AngryOldDem
(14,061 posts)Ebola will be a hugely destabilizing political force as people will demand action and governments react. Look at the protests in Spain, not only about the dog, but how officials handled this woman. As Ebola spreads to the "first world," I look for more of the same, and worse.
There was NO reason at all for this dog to be put down, other than officials trying to look like they were doing something. To my knowledge there is NO evidence of dogs transmitting the disease. And if it was that much of a concern, he could have easily been quarantined and monitored for 21 days.
But a dog is dead and the anger and fear are growing.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)Even though it is an unpopular opinion.
LisaL
(44,985 posts)tested her for Ebola.
And now they killed her dog.
AngryOldDem
(14,061 posts)Obviously, no (at least I don't think so) because of its nature. But that said, I think the real worry people should have is how well authorities will follow protocol in dealing with Ebola, both as it concerns actual and suspected cases.
I think this will expose just how not ready a lot of governments and institutions are to deal with a crisis.
And the bottom line with the Texas patient? He was turned away because he had no insurance? Why am I not surprised?
I hope the nurse pulls through but last I heard she was deteriorating.
dembotoz
(16,866 posts)i love doggies but a bit of perspective please....
LisaL
(44,985 posts)As far as I know, they don't euthanize potentially infected contacts.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)get the red out
(13,468 posts)What kind of steps will be taken here when Ebola comes to call?
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)It's called panicking.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)But I understand why the dog was put down. Dogs can have ebola without showing symptoms and may be able to transfer it to humans.
LisaL
(44,985 posts)Furthermore, this particular dog was not even tested to see if it was infected.
It's a complete over-reaction.
They didn't test the woman for Ebola for a week, resulting in her now being on ventilator apparently near death.
Then they killed her dog, without testing him at all.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)so they are not sickened by it, but they do get rid of it.
Excalibur could have been quarantined, tested and ultimately cleared.
Well, it's looking like she's not going to make it, intubated, on a vent with multiple organ failure, so if she doesn't, at least Excaliber will be waiting for her over the bridge.
AngryOldDem
(14,061 posts)Christ, even dogs suspected of rabies (and those that attack) are quarantined for three weeks.
That's all we need -- people going off half-cocked looking for quick fixes to stuff they don't fully understand. Dark Ages redux.