Update: Teen Finds Dog That Bit Him

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The dog that bit a Jefferson County teen has been found.

Now, 18 year old Justin Cole of Calcium is waiting to find out if the dog has rabies.

If the dog does have the virus, Justin will have to get rabies shots.

It all started Sunday evening between 7:30 and 8 p.m. on the Calcium Nature Trail.

Justin was jogging when a dog nipped him in the thigh.

Justin never thought to ask the owners if the dog had been vaccinated against rabies.

He said a couple in their 60s had been walking two dogs that were not on leashes.

One of the dogs, described as a brown and white animal resembling a bulldog, bit Justin.

The dog answered to the name ‘Sheika’.

Justin needed to find the dog before Wednesday or else he would have to receive rabies shots.

Immediately after our Monday 11 p.m. report, the dog’s owner got in touch with Justin.

Since our report, the Jefferson County Dog Control officer has confined the dog and will observe the animal for the next ten days.

If the dog exhibits symptoms of rabies, it will be tested.

If the animal tests positive for the virus, Justin will receive the vaccine.

County Public Health Specialist Jeff Leiendecker said rabies is only contagious if the animal has the virus in its saliva, which happens in the end stages of the animal’s illness.

Under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and the State Health Department, an animal without a rabies vaccination that bites a human must be confined and observed.

The human does not immediately receive rabies shots because of the risks associated with the vaccine.

Shots are only administered to humans if the animal has rabies.

See Caroline Tucker’s report from 11 p.m. Monday:

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