My dog died with bloody stool. Could it be rabies? Am I at risk?

First off, I am so very sorry that Lawiswis died today! If he had rabies, you would see significant behavioral changes such as aggression, and rabies is passed via bites not licking. If he had blood in his stool and wasn't eating, I would be very concerned he had parvovirus. It's a life threatening GI infection in unvaccinated dogs and puppies that is too often fatal and causes bloody stool and anorexia. That would be the most likely cause of his death, and you cannot get parvovirus. In the future, make sure any puppy you gets vaccines from the vet. Again, I am so very sorry for your loss :-(

I am so sorry but it sounds like your pet is having a moderate vaccine reaction. I would highly recommend taking her to an ER vet right away to have your puppy Bella evaluated and treated for a vaccine reaction. They will likely do steroids and anthistamine injection to help stabilize her condition. I really hope that your fur baby Bella is able to make a full and speedy recovery. She may be having a reaction to Rabies, so it is important to have her get pre-meds (from your vet) before her next yearly to help prevent this in the future. Best wishes and take care!

If you were in a country that was known to have rabies in the dog population, then I would be concerned, but the UK is considered rabies-free. Canine Distemper Virus is more likely to be the cause of this and is more common with stray puppies.. However, distemper can be spread to other dogs through contact, so it's important to ensure your dogs are up-to-date on their vaccines. While adult dogs are usually not as seriously affected by this disease, it is possible that they could get similar signs as the puppy. One way you can test the puppy for contagious disease is to have the body tested by a veterinary pathologist. Your vet will be able to help with that. I hope that helps and all is well with the other dogs.

Hello. I am so sorry for your loss. It would be impossible for me to diagnose exactly what took Qra's life, but all the symptoms describe a gastrointestinal problem. This could include anything from a severe parasite problem to a twist or intussusception, blockage, or even a cancer like lymphoma. Please accept my condolences on your loss & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I am sorry for your loss. If the death was the direct and immediate result of the attack, rabies would not be a concern. The main route of transmission is from a bite but it takes weeks for the virus to develop and become infectious

I am very sorry to hear about your loss. The signs you are describing could be compatible with a rodenticide anti-coagulant intoxication. Bleeding usually starts in the thoracic vessels and when started is often quite late to reverse. It is usually not a painful intoxication and very often quite subtle in terms of clinical signs.

Hello. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes, that would be a legitimate concern. Neurological behavior changes could be due to a brain tumor but it could also be due to a disease like rabies. Since rabies is a zoonotic disease (can be transmitted from animals to people) and it is nearly 100% fatal you need to be very judicious in diagnosis. Unless you had a CT scan or an MRI of Elektra's brain showing the tumor I think it is very reasonable for your vet to request a necropsy with rabies testing. Rabies is not unheard of in this country. I am actually surprised the second vet didn't request the same thing. We get lazy in this country and take for granted that rabies is rare but do you want to be the one rare case in reference to a fatal disease? It is better to be safe than sorry in my opinion. I am really sorry you had to deal with this but I don't feel like your original vet was out of line at all. Hope this answers your question and I am sorry for your loss of Elektra. Best wishes.