Posted by Ken C. on Thursday, August 03, 2006 at 1:50PM :
Got a call from my wife last week that there was a bat flying around in the house. Left work, chased it around the house and then caught it without incident and ... LET IT GO!
Big mistake ... I read in the paper this morning that bats can bite without a trace or pain and that anyone who has had a bat in the house and can not verify that they were not bitten needs to be treated for rabies.
Called the Dr and since we did not see the bat enter the house, and because it was flying around in the daylight, and because I did NOT have it tested for rabies, my family and I are now going to have to go through the rabies treatments! They aren't as bad as they used to be - only 5 shots in the arm over a month's time, but they are expen$ive (probabaly $6,000 for the 4 of us) and can only be given at the emergency room ... so you can bet that it'll be a couple hours each shot.
Worst thing is that we were watching a friend's sweet 6 year old daughter who will also have to go through the shots.
Moral of the story - if you see a bat in your house, catch it or kill it and hand it over to the health department for testing. Just don't crush its head as they need it for the test.
Ken C.
'64 W200
'69 Road Runner
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