As the U.S. Department of Agriculture continues to distribute bait packets containing an oral rabies vaccine across Alabama, some pet owners are concerned about their furry friends eating the bait.
One woman in a Vestavia Hills Facebook group posted this week that her 11-month-old puppy found and chewed up over 20 of the packets when she had her outside in the morning.
The owner said that the puppy began foaming at the mouth but was cleared by her vet after being examined.
State Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Dee Jones told AL.com Friday that while 20 is an unusually large amount for an animal to ingest, the packets are generally not harmful to pets if consumed.
“I’m not sure how the dog got 20 packets,” he said.
“But at some point, yeah, I mean that many packets could be some obstruction problem, you know, even though most of the time they vomit it back up.”
“But that would be an enormous number and that’s certainly not indicative of the normal calls we get,” he continued.
“Like most of the time it’s two or three or less than five packets.”
After more than a decade of taking calls for pets who have consumed the packets, Jones said this was the first report he had seen where a dog consumed more than 10.
But he asserted that it would likely take more than even 20 of the packets to cause any long-term effects.
“Certainly, there is an attractant on the vaccine on these sachet packets,” he said.
“It is fish meal, which can cause some gastrointestinal issues. So, I think you should expect vomiting and diarrhea.”
He added, “if it went on for more than 24 hours, I would very much consider taking the pet to the veterinarian to just be on the safe side.”
He said that the U.S. has been running these rabies bait drops for roughly 20 years across 17 states, and all research within that time has confirmed that the vaccine is not harmful to domestic pets.
He added that the packets do not cause rabies in animals, nor will they protect an unvaccinated pet against rabies. So, owners should keep their pet on its regular vaccine schedule even if it ingests one of the baits.
Jones said the state’s federal wildlife partners typically only drop baits in a specific area once a year, and the attractant dissolves over a short period of time.
So, he said pet owners should supervise their pets outside for the next few weeks if they’re worried about ingestion but added that the baits won’t last or be attractive to cats and dogs for very long.
While the baits have also proven to be non-harmful to cats, Jones said he had never received a call for a cat ingesting one.
If owners are concerned about their pet being exposed to the packets, Jones advised them to call the number listed on the bait and report it.
“We are always interested in exposures,” he said.
“If there’s anything beyond the vomiting and diarrhea, we do report that back to wildlife services and onto the vaccine manufacturer and so forth.”
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