Monday, September 26, 2011

Rabies takes life of mule

TENNESSEE -- A mule died of rabies Wednesday at a northern Bedford County farm, according to a local equine veterinarian.

"The state called today and said it had tested positive for rabies," Dr. John Bennett said Friday. "I don't know how the mule got it. Maybe it was bitten by a rabid skunk."

The mule had not been vaccinated, Bennett said.

Bennett said he was notified of the mule's condition early Wednesday morning.

"The owner called and said the mule had been down most of the night," Bennett said. "We got to his farm at 6:30 a.m. and the mule was down thrashing with a bloody discharge from its mouth. I was suspicious of neurological problems at that point."

Bennett said he attempted to treat the mule and left for a short time.

"We came back within an hour and the mule had died," Bennett said.

The last recent case of equine rabies Bennett said he remembered occurred four years ago.

"We had one four years ago at the Celebration from Missouri," Bennett said. "The horse had been on a trail ride earlier and had not contacted rabies locally."

Brenda Goodrich of Bedford County Animal Control said she had not heard of rabies cases in the area this year but said she is not always notified. The state health department had not responded to a request for Bedford County rabies statistics as of late Friday.

Goodrich urges animal owners to have them vaccinated and, if expenses are a problem, to take advantage of the rabies clinics held across Bedford County each spring.

(Shelbyville Times-Gazette - Sept 25, 2011)