Help! The stupid rabies fear is back.

Also does anyone know if it's safe to take Xanax when you have a high fever and possibly the flu?

A bite from a rabid animal (an animal infected with the rabies virus) is the most common form of rabies transmission. Non-bite exposure and human-to-human exposure are both rare.

Rabies symptoms may not show up for months, but when they do, a person is likely to feel like he or she has the flu. A headache, fever, and weakness are generally the first sign of the disease progressing. The place that was bitten is also generally sore, itchy, and may have a prickly feeling.

Did you know this dog, was it someone's family pet ? Dogs that are pets should have their rabies shots up to date.

As you buried the dog and did not have the animal test for rabies I think it would be OK to check in with your Dr..  Your sx do match flu sx so I hope that is all you have going on.

Big breath and don't let your mind wander into the land of "what if?" thinking.

Thanks, SC. I went to the doctor and the flu test was negative. She thinks it was probably some other type of virus but put me on Cipro just in case it's bacterial.

Kitt, it was my dad's fiance's dog. We think one of our dogs killed it. I'm a veterinary technician and have been for 10 years, so I know more about Rabies than I should. ;) I was pet-sitting for them while my dad and fiancé moved her stuff from Illinois to Texas. Apparently a fight broke out between our dog and her dog. We have two and she has two, and they'd been having trouble integrating. I walked in at 4am, after a 12 hour night shift, to find her dog torn to shreds. We know who the likely culprit is, but there is a doggie door big enough for a mastiff to get in and out of and my overly active, panicked mind developed this imaginary scenario of a wild animal coming in, killing Lola, and then getting chased off by the other dogs. It IS possible to contract Rabies through an open wound on your hand if the saliva of a rabid animal gets into it. I always have cuts and scratches... It's an occupational hazard. My panic disorder just took off with this and has been bringing it up randomly to haunt me ever since, even though all evidence points to another household dog.

Anyway, I'm sorry I brought this up. It was probably just a fever-induced, delirious event. I'm sure it sounded really stupid.

Thank you all very much for listening. :)

Thanks Larry. You're awesome. :) Yes, Rabies is very scary, but animals are my life. Helping make the world a better place for them is my passion. I rescue cats constantly... I can't even tell you how many I have bottlefed and rehomed since I've been a tech at the Animal ER (people find them all the time and bring them to us). It's the most rewarding thing ever. I think I should just go get a rabies vaccine ASAP so I can stop this irrational fear from recurring. It's pretty rare to contract Rabies, even here in Texas where we have the highest concentration of it in the US (or so I've read).

Jo-Erin, as a vet tech, I'm surprised you haven't been given the rabies vaccine. I worked for Travis County for a while, and I know all the vet techs and animal control employees there are given the prophylactic vaccine. The bats, you know.