A woman in NC had 2 dogs who got into a fight with a fox. The dogs survived, the fox didn’t. ACOs showed up to check the rabies vaccination dates for the dogs since they assumed the fox was rabid (no remains left to actually test the fox I guess). Turns out, the rabies vax weren’t current so they kindly offered to seize the dogs and toss them in quarantine for 6 months – at a price tag of $10,000 – or kill them both. The owner couldn’t afford the generous quarantine offer so animal control killed her dogs.
I don’t know how far out of date the rabies vaccines were but I do honestly believe they last for the life of a dog. I understand the state has an obligation to protect the public from rabies but it seems a shame there couldn’t have been a reasonable, third option offered in the case of these vaccinated dogs who may or may not have been exposed to rabies.