Well that is just great! You are right not to go back there.
Go on the web and find the governance of your County. See who the commissioner of your District is, and write him or call his office to report this infraction. This shelter needs to abide by the laws...of course that is if their law is that every animal be given a rabies vaccination.
As long as you have taken steps to protect yourself that is most important. I am sure you will be fine. The dog does not have rabies if he has been with them for 5 weeks with no aggressive signs. The Shelter is just remiss in covering their legal responsibilities---IMO.
Good luck, try not to worry , you will be fine.
Sincerely,
CML
Hi rana,
Firstly please stay calm, chances are this dog does NOT have rabies if he has been at the shelter for 5 weeks already....HOWEVER.....and this is a big however any shelter that takes in a stray MUST see to it that they have been given a Rabies shot. This is the law in all states. They must keep there animals up-to-date on rabies registration.
So today--call Animal Care and Control and have them quarantine this dog and they will fine this shelter for not adhering to this policy. This is the way it should be. You cannot have any animal that is owned (and the shelter is the present owner) not be up to date on rabies shots. They are operating outside of the law, and frankly to tell you to go home and forget about it is irresponsible behavior and they need to be reported.
Do not feel bad about this you are helping other poor animals in this shelter who are being taken in and not protected. They are not helping the problem , that shelter is adding to the problem.
In addition the most important person is you--you need to be sure you are ok. They have endangered your life.. Having said that , as I have said before there is probably NO need for concern, but the law is the law and the dog must be quarantined without up to date rabies license. . They have had this poor dog for 5 weeks, plenty of time to have him vaccinated.
Hopefully your reporting this will make them a responsible shelter. Right now they seem the opposite.
See you doctor for advice and meds.
Please let us know how this turns out. As I have said before there is every chance that this dog is free of rabies, but better safe then sorry.
Good Luck, CML
Hello.
I think you know what you have to do and you just need to do it. Call the proper authorities, your state board of animal health, and they'll take it from there. Meanwhile see your doctor again to keep progress on your wounds. You may want to check a different forum as we are the Cats forum. I must say too that, given your other health concerns, you probably shouldn't be involved with the shelter because it's such emotionally demandin work. No shame in that.
Blessings,
Melinda