The Dallas, Texas apartment of the female nurse who tested positive for Ebola after caring for Thomas Eric Duncan has been completely sealed off, leaving her dog in quarantine. (RELATED: Ebola Flies Into Dallas)
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said the dog remained in the health care worker’s apartment when she was hospitalized and will soon be sent to a new location to await her recovery, reports USA Today. (RELATED: Ebola Strikes Again In Texas: Female Nurse Tests Positive)
Unlike the case in Spain, the U.S. dog will not be euthanized.
Madrid’s regional government got a court order last Tuesday to euthanize an Ebola patient’s dog out of fear of spreading the disease. The Spanish patient’s husband fought to save their pet, Excalibur, using a social media campaign. Followers used the Twitter hashtag #SalvemosaExcalibur, “Let’s Save Excalibur.”
Despite activist and twitter followers’ efforts, the dog was “sedated beforehand to avoid suffering,” Madrid’s regional health agency said in a statement. The corpse was then “put into a sealed biosecurity device and transferred for incineration at an authorized disposal facility,” reports The Guardian. (RELATED: Spanish Nurse First To Contract Ebola Outside Africa)
As for the Dallas pet, CG Environmental is working with members of the local SPCA branch and Dallas animal control officials to remove the dog from the apartment.