Name: John Raphael Reuel J.
Ablao Sir Alejandro A Ablao II
Section: BS Biology 2A February 24,2025
Stray Animal Bites: Care and Prevention
Rabies is a disease that I have always heard of even as a kid but have minimal knowledge about it. Mode
of transmission, rate of fatality, and changes in the behavior of an animal that is infected are the only things I
knew about rabies until recent times. Thanks to this seminar, I could widen my knowledge about these diseases,
how to determine the presence of the virus in mammals, and how to prevent the further spread of the virus in
the population of strays. Not only does the seminar tackle the prevention of the spread of rabies but it also
tackles how to care for animals, even strays.
One of the first topics that stuck with me in the discussion is that rabies is not the “venom” of dogs/cats.
This may be because of the hearsay I always heard from the elderly when I was a child. Looking back, that might
be why I’m slightly afraid of dogs and cats. Not until only a few years ago, when I got curious about the disease
because of the rising number of cases a while back, that I learned that rabies is a virus. Symptoms like foaming
mouth and rabid tendencies are originally indicators of a dog or cat having rabies. But thanks to this seminar, I
learned the reason why the infected are rabid and that there are more symptoms that I need to watch out for
regarding rabies-infected animals. Another topic that picked my interest, not because of how enlightening it is
but how it is inhumane for me is how the presence of the rabies virus is identified in the brain. The process of
cutting off the head just to examine the presence of rabies is shocking to me. Though it is morbid to think about,
I understand that that’s the only way to identify and study the presence of rabies virus in mammals.
On the other hand, other than discussing what rabies is and the symptoms developed by animals infected
by it, prevention and how to care for strays are also mentioned in the seminar. The most well-known method is
the yearly vaccination of anti-rabies to pets to increase their resistance to the virus or to prevent them from
transmitting it to others. However, the highlight of this part to me is the mass vaccination of strays carried out
by members of the Department of Health (DOH) and Local Government Units (LGU). I was amazed at how they
work together to capture and vaccinate stray dogs. Another method that I learned of to prevent the spread of
the virus is the neutering of pets. This one comes as a surprise to me, but thinking about it, here in the
Philippines, some owners let their pets roam the street, accidentally contributing to the population of strays if
they meet a stray mate. I came to realize that when neutered, even if the animal roams the street, it would be
impossible to procreate with strays, meaning fewer individuals to infect with the virus.
Though the common conception of strays being harbingers of rabies is out there, a quote from Dr. Faith,
the doctor of veterinary medicine who’s the speaker of the seminar, got to me, “Everyone deserves to be loved,
even strays”. I can apply what I learned from this seminar in a time where I decide to adopt a pet either those
that have breed or stray. I would ensure that I abide by the learning that I took from this seminar.
DOCUMENTATION/ PROOF OF ATTENDANCE:
