Once rabies symptoms appear, the disease is 100% fatal.
There is no hope for a cure once the symptoms have begun.
Rabies in dogs is tragically common, and is the leading cause of rabies in humans.
The disease is horrifying. The World Health Organization estimates that each year, at least 59,000 people die of rabies, but they believe that because many cases are unreported, the number of annual deaths is likely much higher. ((source))
WHO also reports that over 29 million people are given a post-bite vaccination each year, preventing many more deaths.
Rabies occurs in more than 150 countries around the world, but 95% of rabies cases occur in Africa and Asia. ((source))
Rabies in dogs is what leads to humans getting rabies.
Dog bites make up 99% of global rabies infections.
Rabies generally starts off with flu-like symptoms …
… weakness, fever, headache …
but over a period of time ranging from a few days to a few months,
the deadly disease takes over.
The brain begins to dysfunction.
The victim will experience anxiety, frustration, confusion …
people may begin to hallucinate…
many people experience hydrophobia – the fear of water – and are unable to quench their thirst. ((source))
Rabies often involves convulsions so violent that victims must be tied down by their hands and feet, and often kept tied down until they die.
Every 20 minutes, a child dies from rabies.
Children under the age of 15 years old make up almost HALF of all rabies cases. ((source))
A 12-year-old girl who had received three doses of the anti-rabies vaccine still died of the excruciatingly painful disease. ((source))
Rabies in dogs make dog bites even more terrifying.
Since bites from stray dogs are the main source of rabies infections,
many countries across the world end up killing tens of thousands of dogs every year
in order to reduce the risk.
Other attempts to control rabies in dogs involve vaccinating stray dogs against the disease.
Vaccinating stray dogs is incredibly difficult and expensive. It requires a great deal of time, money, and resources.
Stray dogs live their lives on the streets.
Many stray dogs are not familiar with human contact.
Many stray dogs are quite afraid of humans,
and actively avoid any attempts to interact with humans.
This can make catching the dog incredibly difficult.
Alternatively, vaccine “baits” can be put out so that the dogs consume the vaccine at their own will, but this can also be difficult to monitor, and it is challenging to make sure that a large enough number of dogs consume the vaccine. ((source))
Even though rabies is a terrifying disease that impacts millions of people,
governments in places like India are already struggling with many other issues.
Pollution, homelessness, and other crises take priority over dog vaccinations. ((source))
India accounts for 36% of the world’s cases – rabies in dogs and humans.
India’s stray dog population has grown substantially over the years.
Currently, an estimated 35-40 million stray dogs roam the streets on any given day.
However, even if it were possible to vaccinate all 600 million stray dogs that roam worldwide on any given day, if we don’t spay and neuter the dogs, the dogs will reproduce, and the cycle will continue once again.
Reducing the number of stray dogs would help to reduce the spread of rabies.
However, efforts to spay and neuter dogs en masse are equally as challenging as vaccinating dogs against rabies.
Spay and neuter surgery also requires the stray dog to be captured.
The dog must undergo surgery,
take time to recover,
and then be released once again.
This process requires a great amount of resources.
And we just aren’t keeping up.
The world’s 600 million stray dogs will go on to reproduce.
Every year, another 1 billion stray puppies are born.
Current efforts to combat the overpopulation crisis,
and efforts to reduce the massive amount of rabies infections,
are falling short.
Rabies in dogs is a critical global issue.
We are failing over 59,000 people who die painful deaths each year as a result of this disease.
We are also failing the hundreds of millions of dogs and cats who end up in the Cycle of Suffering.
Since vaccinating the dogs has proven to be complicated and ineffective,
and spaying and neutering dogs also has its own challenges,
many countries will turn to mass-killing efforts instead.
In over 60 countries, the methods for killing are extremely cruel..
There are limited laws preventing cruelty, and inhumane methods are used because they are low cost.
Dogs will be crushed to death in garbage trucks.
They’ll be fed food laced with glass and bleed to death.
Electrocuted. Hanged.
We need a permanent solution.
The Spay and Neuter Cookie, once completed, will offer a safe, effective,
and most importantly, permanent solution that the rabies crisis so desperately needs.
The Spay and Neuter Cookie is being designed to be one-dose, permanent birth control. This offers a game-changing solution.
A solution to solve multiple crises, right at the source of the issue.
The best way to reduce the incidence of rabies is to reduce rabies in dogs.
It is clear that surgical spay and neutering efforts cannot keep up.
It is clear that vaccination efforts cannot keep up.
Rabies is an extremely painful, deadly disease that requires urgent action.
The Spay and Neuter Cookie is a game-changing solution.
The Cookie is in the research and development stage, but with your help, we can expedite efforts to save dogs, cats, and humans alike.
Help us end rabies in dogs,
And fight the rabies epidemic right at the source of the issue.
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