We know that not everyone spends as much time online as we do, but we also know you still want to be up to date on the latest veterinary and animal news. You just need to do it fast. Today we’re debuting Too Long Didn’t Read: a brief summary of some of the more interesting articles to cross our desks recently. In today’s bites, we learn some good news about rabies exposure guidelines and give you three awesome things vets have done recently that you can use at parties when people say, “Oh, so you cuddle puppies all day right?”
What’s that you say about sleeping tight? An elderly Wyoming woman died of rabies after encountering a bat in her bedroom while she slept. There was no obvious bite, so she and her family didn’t think to seek treatment until more than a month later, when the woman was hospitalized for a mystery illness. —Get more at NPR
Good news- overdue rabies vaccine might no longer be an automatic death sentence. The Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association now says that cats and dogs who are overdue for their rabies vaccinations can be given a booster and observed for a period after being exposed to rabies. This is a considerable departure from previous recommendations of a quarantine period or euthanasia. The importance of keeping rabies vaccines up to date remains important, however, as pet owners aren’t always aware when their pets are exposed to rabies. —Get more at AVMA
Vets really do cool stuff. A Tasmanian devil named Nick underwent surgery to implant a pacemaker following the discovery an abnormal heartbeat during a routine health exam in January. Nick is now back in his exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, and his regulated heartbeat should give him an extra year or two of happy, healthy living. This is only the second time this has been done on a Tasmanian devil. —Get more at NBC San Diego
No, seriously. A pioneering cataract surgery at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Small Animal Hospital has given a chinstrap penguin from Moody Gardens a brand new outlook on life — literally. The life-improving operation was so successful that the team is looking at performing it on four other elderly penguins at Moody Gardens. —Get more at Texas A&M Today
You might even say we kick ass (get it?) A 3-year-old miniature horse named Shine has a new spring in his step thanks to the team at the Colorado State University teaching hospital. Shine’s owners suspect he was attacked by dogs, leaving him with severe injuries to his leg, which, in another case, might have resulted in euthanasia, but instead, the horse was fitted with a prosthetic and is now able to walk. —DVM360
