Advance, Missouri - On September 2, 2015 Dr. Brett Ward of Helping Hands Veterinary Clinic received a letter from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The letter states that an 8-week-old puppy from Bollinger County tested positive for RABIES on August 26, 2015. Because rabies in a domestic animal represents a serious and imminent public health threat, the Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services placed Bollinger County under a RABIES ALERT!
The puppy belonged to a resident of Bollinger County and was one of a litter of four. Around July 20th of this year a skunk was observed under the front porch of the owner’s home where the puppies and their mother were located.
Skunks are known carrier of Rabies in Missouri and it is presumed that’s how the puppy was infected. The puppies were adopted to three families and on August 21st the puppy in question became sick, was subsequently euthanized and submitted to the Missouri State Public Health laboratory for rabies testing.
A positive rabies test resulted on August 26th whereby 12 people who had contact with the puppy were notified and are receiving anti-rabies series of shots.
The remaining puppies were euthanized and tested negative. As you know, these results do not mean that the puppies were not infected with the rabies virus. Instead, the results indicate that since there was no rabies virus in the brain, there was also no rabies virus in the saliva. Therefore, these puppies could not have infected anyone who came in contact with them.
With that being said, the three puppies where not infectious when tests were performed, however they could have gone on to develop rabies over the next several months and become infectious at that time.
No one wants to have puppies euthanized, but this option must be employed at times to protect the health of the public according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
According to the MDHSS, RABIES occurs naturally in Missouri wild animals and occasionally in domestic animals. In 2014, a total of 27 rabid animals were detected. They included 9 skunks, 16 bats, and 2 cats. Missouri has averaged about 50 rabid animals per year over the past ten years. The main animals were bats and skunks. Statewide to date in 2015, a total of 21 rabid animals have been detected, including 13 bats, 6 skunks, and 2 dogs.
Please be responsible and vaccinate your dogs and cats against rabies. It serves as a buffer between the wildlife reservoir and the human population. Two individuals have died in recent years from rabies in Missouri.
See your local Veterinarian for RABIES vaccinations immediately. Most cities and counties have ordinances that require the vaccination annually.
If you need to get your pet vaccinated please contact your local Veterinarian. Dr. Brett Ward with Helping Hands Veterinary Clinic will be glad to schedule you an appointment as soon as possible. To contact them call (573) 321-2021.
USA - Patriot Day falls on 11th September (also commonly known as ‘Nine-Eleven’) and is remembered globally as the anniversary of the catastrophic terrorist attacks on the USA of 11th September 2001.
Embedded in the memories of everyone who lived through it, this was the day four jet planes were hijacked and crashed into the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, causing the deaths of 2,977 people. The fourth plane (United Airlines Flight 93) was directed at Washington DC, but its passengers bravely attempted to take back control and it crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The large majority of those lost after the attacks on the Twin Towers were working at or above the points of collision; thousands of people who had gone to work that morning like every other day, found themselves suddenly stranded at the top of a burning skyscraper. A number made the choice to jump from the flaming buildings rather than wait to be caught by the flames or for the building to collapse. No one could forget the terrifying and heartbreaking stories and images captured by the news footage of the day.
In the wake of the World Trade Center collisions, many brave men and women from the emergency services risked their lives to try to help rescue victims of the attacks, and of them 411 lost their own lives attempting to fight fires and rescue people.
Patriot Day is recognized by US law as the official day of remembrance for these tragic events, and has been observed every year since. Each year on this day, American flags are flown at half-staff to honor and commemorate those lives lost. The US President asks fellow Americans to observe a moment of silence at 8.46am (Eastern Daylight Time), the time of the first plane collision into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
While the events took place within the USA, the shock and grief experienced in response to the attacks was shared across the globe, and for this reason Patriot Day will be observed not only in America, but all over the world.
“The events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed our world in many ways,” Gov. Jay Nixon said. “I ask Missourians to take time on Friday to remember those who lost their lives on that day, and to honor those in uniform who willingly put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf.”
Justiny Irene Michael Ply is a 15 year old juvenile white female who was last seen at a residence in Baxter County on September 7 around 1 a.m. and no one has had contact with her since.
She has brown hair and brown eyes. She is 5’4 165 lbs with a mole over her lip under the right side of her nose.
If anyone has any information to the whereabouts of Justiny they are asked to contact their local law enforcement agency immediately.
August/Labor Day Crackdown 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' Enforcement Campaign a Success
Dexter, Missouri - Declaring Dexter Police Department's participation in the national August/Labor Day Crackdown “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” substance–impaired driving crackdown a major success, Lieutenant Joshua Benton reported that 1 substance-impaired driving arrest and 104 citations were made during the enforcement period, which ran from August 21-September 7, 2015.
“I am proud of our Officers for their hard work and dedication to making our region’s roadways safer,” said Lieutenant Benton. “Substance-impaired driving is more than a reckless choice by a few individuals,” Lieutenant Benton said. “Each year, substance-impaired driving costs the lives of thousands on America’s highways.
Last year there were 197 fatal and 659 serious injury crashes in 2014 that involved at least one substance-impaired driver. That equates to one substance-impaired driving fatality every 1 ¾ days and one substance-impaired driving serious injury ½ day. There were 11 people killed and 42 seriously injured in Missouri traffic crashes involving a substance-impaired driver from August 15, 2014 through September 1, 2014.
Dexter Police Department joined forces with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and nearly 10,000 law enforcement agencies across the country in this year’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.
For more information, visit the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Campaign headquarters at www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov,
