14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, it was announced that a 44-year-old nurse in Span had been diagnosed with Ebola. The woman contracted the virus from a missionary that she helped treat, and is the first person in the world to get Ebola outside of Africa.
Recent news on the topic says that, having put this woman and her husband in isolation at Madrid's Carlos III Hospital, health officials in Spain are now looking to put her dog to sleep.
They argue that the pooch, named Excalibur, might be carrying the deadly virus in its body and could, therefore, sicken many other people. Hence, the safest way to proceed is to euthanize it.
What do the dog's owners have to say about this?
Neither the nurse, identified as Teresa Romero Ramos, nor her husband, Javier Limón Romero, is ready and willing to part with their dog. They say that, rather than kill it, health officials should put it in quarantine.
Since the couple is now in isolation at Madrid's Carlos III Hospital, the dog is home alone. The 44-year-old nurse's husband says that he left the pooch food and water, and that the dog is free to explore the terrace, The Guardian informs.
What Teresa Romero Ramos and Javier Limón Romero can't understand is why health officials in Spain are so determined to take the easy way out and kill the dog rather than first monitor it to make sure that it really is infected.
“If it bothers them so much then they should find other alternative solutions, such as putting the dog in quarantine and observation, as they have done with me. But of course a dog is easier, it doesn’t matter as much,” the husband said.
How determined are health officials to kill this dog?
Apparently, the folks looking to euthanize Excalibur are pretty much dead set on having their way. Thus, it is understood that, after the couple refused to grant them permission to put the pooch to sleep, they promised to get a court order.
“I want to publicly denounce a man called Zarco, who I think is Head of Health for the community of Madrid and who's told me that I have to sacrifice my dog,” Javier Limón Romero told the press in an interview.
“He's asked for my consent and I've denied it, to which he responded that they would ask for a court order to enter my house and sacrifice it,” the 44-year-old nurse's husband added, as cited by Daily Mail.
Not giving up without a fight
Shortly after health officials threated to kill their dog, the couple contacted several animal protection organizations and asked members and supporters to help them save Excalibur.
In just a few hours, the hashtag #SalvemosAExcalibur (i.e. Let'sSaveExcalibur) was trending on Twitter, and the online community got flooded with photos of other people's pets posing with messages demanding that the dog be put in quarantine and not killed.
Somebody even went as far as to start an online petition asking Spanish health officials to reconsider and only put Excalibur to sleep after checking to see whether or not the dog is indeed carrying the deadly virus in its body.
“Not only is it unfair to be infected with Ebola by the sanitary assistant due to the lack of necessary means, they must also lose their dog as a result of an thoughtless decision, as it would be much easier to isolate or quarantine the dog just as they have the victim’s husband.”
“If this woman were to die, the dog which has accompanied them for so many years would be an important emotional support for her husband. This is not 'just' a dog, for this couple he is one of the family,” the petition reads.
As of now, nearly 250,000 dog lovers have signed this petition. It is still unclear whether Spanish officials will take this plea into consideration and not euthanize the dog. Hopefully, more information will soon be shared with the public.
Update, October 9: Despite protests, Excalibur was put to sleep. His body was incinerated.