Nina Pham's story came full circle yesterday when she was reunited with her King Charles spaniel named Bentley. Pham is the first nurse that contracted the Ebola virus after taking care of Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. On October 12 Pham tested positive for the virus and was transferred to National Institutes of Health in Maryland for treatment. There was a lot of initial concern for Bentley because the dog of a nurse who tested positive for Ebola in Spain was euthanized. Officials insisted that Bentley would be well cared for and that obviously was the case.
Pham was finally released from the hospital on Oct. 24 after a blood transfusion from former Ebola patient, Dr. Kent Brantly seemed to kick start her healing. While Pham was able to finally go home her dog Bentley was still under quarantine until Nov. 1. Three times a day caretakers dressed in hazmat suits would care for the dog. He also was tested three different times for the virus and each one came back negative. Finally yesterday Bentley was able to reunite with Pham, who likened it to feeling like Christmas and her dog pretty obviously agreed with that assessment.
Officials are still learning about how the Ebola virus effects animals. Bentley was extremely close to Pham when she first started having symptoms yet he was never infected. He was treated as if he was a human family member and caretakers had the dog quarantined and adhering to similar guidelines that anyone else who had close contact with Pham would have be given. Do you think that ultimately we'll learn that a family pets' ability to spread this awful disease is definitively similar to how people do? Tell usyour thoughts in the comments below!
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