Gina Augustini Best 
Gina Augustini Best
The Watchdog: If Fido bites, he might get exception to quarantine
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Gina Augustini Best
Neo — aptly named for the lightning-fast fighting hero in the sci-fi flick The Matrix — tolerated the "lion hairdo" his owners had given him with as much dignity as any Persian cat with a body buzz cut can muster.
But this past April, as he faced a second "lion grooming" at Alliance Animal Health Center in Keller, something snapped inside. As the groomer took her clippers to Neo’s groin area — well, hell hath no fury like a fed-up feline. The 4-year-old cat lashed out with the force of his namesake, scratching the groomer’s hands and arms and biting another groomer on the arm when she tried to help.
"They said he went ballistic," said Neo’s owner, LaNita Black of Keller, adding that they didn’t sedate him that day because they were told that he was a perfect angel the first time he underwent the clippers. But this time, "they said he was the 'cat from hell.’ "
The bitten groomer had to be treated at a nearby clinic. In accordance with Fort Worth’s city animal-bite ordinance, the bite was reported to Animal Control. (Although the animal clinic has a Keller address, it’s within Fort Worth’s city limits.)
Neo quickly found himself in an animal version of the slammer, facing 10 days of quarantine in the veterinary facility with no human contact, except for feeding and necessary care. Do not pass go; do not collect an affectionate scratch under the chin.
LaNita and her husband, Mike Black, were shocked. They had taken in Neo for a simple grooming, but now their beloved pet, who had all his vaccinations, including rabies, would be quarantined without contact for a lengthy period. "It was outrageous," LaNita said. The Blacks were given no warning that something like this could happen when they filled out paperwork for the grooming, they said. And they weren’t even sure they’d get Neo back.
The couple contacted the city’s Animal Care and Control Center seeking help. The biting incident was out of character for their cat. Could they quarantine Neo at home since he wasn’t considered a dangerous or high-risk animal?
No, they were told.
In the eyes of the Blacks, Neo was being treated like "a wild animal," not the affectionate house cat he is. But in the eyes of state law and municipal ordinances, animals are animals. And animals that bite — first-time offenders or not — typically wind up quarantined in facilities licensed by the state’s Department of State Health Services. Home confinement is the exception.
Be it Neo or any other animal, the city takes its precautions against rabies seriously, said Amy Casas, spokeswoman for the Fort Worth Public Health Department, which oversees the city’s Animal Care and Control Center. Physicians and veterinarians, according to state law, must report all animal bites.
"We understand that it’s very emotional for these owners," she said, but the rules protect residents as well as their pets. Fort Worth follows regulations set by the Department of State Health Services’ Infectious Disease Control Unit, which does allow for an animal to be confined in a home if the incident meets certain criteria. A quick search on www.municode.com, a Web site that publishes city municipal codes, showed that most Tarrant County cities follow the state’s lead and have similar approaches when dealing with animal bites.
Casas said pet owners can appeal for home confinement, in which the animal is kept secure in the home and is observed twice a day by a local rabies control authority or licensed veterinarian. But each incident is handled case by case. It’s the exception rather than the rule, Casas said, adding that the regulations for quarantine really are for the safety of the bitten person, in case follow-up treatment is needed.
"Certainly, Fort Worth is a little more strident," Casas said. "But if something were to happen, if the cat or dog was at home and gets loose, what happens to the individual who was bitten?"
Last year, Fort Worth handled 207 cat bites and a whopping 950 dog bites. And those were just the reported cases, Casas said, emphasizing why the city takes animal bites so seriously.
Neo was one of the lucky ones. He was sprung after four days and was allowed to finish his quarantine under home confinement, LaNita said, "thanks to Mike" researching and calling anyone he could think of who could help them.
The Blacks’ cat was released to home confinement because of the circumstances surrounding the bite, Casas said. In this case, she said the groomer felt bad about the whole incident, the cat was up-to-date with vaccinations, and everyone felt comfortable sending him home.
But that might not be the case for your little Fido or Princess or Whiskers should they snap one day when clippers are poised at their underbellies, as Neo did. If you find you and your pet in a similar predicament, reduce any complications by making sure your pet is vaccinated and registered with the city.
It just might just help your case for home confinement.
Dogs, cats and ferrets (domestic): Regardless of vaccination status, the dog, cat or ferret must be quarantined or humanely killed. If humanely killed, do not damage the brain, as it must be submitted to a rabies laboratory for testing. If the animal is to be quarantined, the 10-day observation period begins at the time the bite occurred.
High-risk animals: Skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes and raccoons must be humanely killed, and their heads must be submitted for rabies testing.
Low-risk animals: Opossums, shrews, moles, squirrels, gophers, mice, rabbits, rats and armadillos do not need to be quarantined or tested unless there is reason to believe the animal has rabies.
Other biting animals: All biting animals that are not categorized as dogs, cats or domestic ferrets, high-risk or low-risk must either be humanely killed and tested, or quarantined or suitably confined as deemed appropriate for a 30-day observation period.
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