Dog tests positive for rabies at GF humane society

Two dogs have been euthanized at Grand Forks’ Circle of Friends Humane Society after one of the dogs tested positive for rabies, officials said Wednesday evening.

Officials also are asking people who may have come into contact with the animals from March 15 to March 20 to call the Grand Forks Public Health Department at (701) 787-8100.

The dogs, both blue healer mixes, were brought to Circle of Friends on March 9 after being picked up as strays in Marshall County, Minn., according to a release from the North Dakota Department of Health.

The smaller of the two dogs, Cookie, tested positive for rabies. The other dog was named Bingo, officials said.

Both dogs were euthanized Friday.

Visitors to the humane society from March 15 to March 20 could have come in contact with the dogs, officials said.

Circle of Friends staff and volunteers are being contacted now about the positive test, said John Bernstrom, a spokesman with the city of Grand Forks, but officials wanted to alert visitors who may have been bitten by or exposed to saliva of the dogs. No person has tested positive, officials said.

Rabies is a viral infection that affects mammals, including people. It generally is transmitted through bites and saliva contact to open cuts or wounds, or saliva contact directly to the eyes or mouth, according to the state health department. The virus causes swelling of the brain and is almost always fatal. Rabies can be prevented in humans if people are given a vaccine after exposure.

Pictures of the dogs are available at www.ndhealth.gov/disease/Rabies/.

Tags: local news, circle of friends humane society, gf and egf, grand forks public health department, breakingnews, rabies, dogs