CINCINNATI — The leader of the Cincinnati police union said he is frustrated with Cincinnati Animal Care. Nearly one week after an officer was bitten by a dog, FOP president Dan Hils said the deceased dog still hasn't been tested for rabies.
“When you’re the one waiting to find out if you have a deadly disease, you don’t want to hear excuses about why there wasn’t something shipped, there wasn’t something done, it needs to be done immediately," Hils said.
Police said at around 8:40 a.m. on Sept. 28, officers responded to the 8000 block of Vine Street after one person reported being bitten by a loose dog. Before officers arrived at the scene, reports came in that a second person had been bitten by the dog, police said.
Once they arrived at the scene, officers tried several times to separate the dog from the general public, but police said during that process, the dog charged at one of the officers, "latching onto their leg and biting them."
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In response, CPD said the officer fired their gun, shooting two rounds at the dog, which was pronounced dead.
The officer was taken to UC Medical Center, where Hils said they began with rabies treatments. One of the civilians bitten by the dog was also taken to the hospital for a bite wound.
Ray Anderson with Cincinnati Animal Care said they don't have the capabilities to conduct a rabies test. CAC medical staff prepared the specimen Thursday night in the presence of the Hamilton County Dog Warden, but Anderson noted lab transportation doesn't operate Friday through Sunday.
“So, that gets to Monday," Hils said. "They said they had too many emergencies Monday. There’s no explanation to why they didn’t ship on Tuesday."
Hils said the officer told him the sample was shipped at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday through the Cincinnati Health Department. He said that's six days too late.
"You're supposed to know within five days. [You have] five days before you’re supposed to start rabies treatments," he said. "Now, the officer started it in the ER, but she wants to know if she can suspend the future shots. She doesn’t want to get all these shots if she doesn’t need them."
On Oct. 5, the Ohio Department of Health said its laboratory received the specimen and tested it. They found the dog was negative for rabies.
CPD did not identify whether the dog belonged to anyone, or if anyone would face charges connected to the incident.
