Inspired by the Carte Blanche special focusing on Rabies in KwaZulu-Natal and his own personal experience with a rabid dog, Mark Taylor has started raising funds to fight the disease.
Mark Taylor is an avid animal lover who is passionate about fighting rabies in South Africa. It all started while he was driving home 5 years ago. He saw a dog laying in the middle of the road, knocked over by a car. He stopped and went to the animal to help it.
He placed the injured animal on his backseat and drove to the nearest vet. When he bent down to pick the dog up and it attacked him, biting his face.
“I drove straight to the vet, thinking that I could save this dog. When I stopped at the vet I bent over to pick up the dog it jumped up and bit me on the side of my face to form a cut about 10cm long from my ear down to my jaw bone. The dog then ran away until I managed to catch it and take it to the vet.”
“The vet immediately voiced his concern that the dog might have rabies. As a precautionary measure, the vet tended to my open wound and sent me directly to a nearby hospital to get the Rabies Prophylaxis Injections, despite the dog’s saliva samples testing negative for the disease.”
The dog had to be put down and further testing proved that the dog had, in fact, had rabies. Thankfully, Mark had already started treatment by the time the test results came back so he completed his treatment and survived the ordeal.
“The experience weighed heavily on me psychologically and still today I struggle to wrap my head around the “What Ifs“. I was fortunate. Many others have not been so lucky.”
It was this experience and seeing the Carte Blanche special that inspired him to take an active step towards fighting the disease. Once the disease manifests, it is 100% fatal, making it one of the most deadly diseases in the world.
It is necessary to seek out treatment as soon as one has received a bite or a scratch from any stray animal including dogs, cats, rats, mice etc. If the medication is administered correctly then the disease is also 100% preventable.
The sudden spike in animal and human deaths across KwaZulu-Natal is alarming. Mark is raising funds to help financially support various NGO’s that are working in the province to fight the disease.
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“I hope to raise funds for various NGO’s in the KZN area so that they can vaccinate as many animals as possible and that are creating awareness and educate others especially those in disadvantaged or high-risk areas, so they can better protect themselves and their loved ones.”
The organisations include Rabies Awareness Eshowe and Furever Pet rescue’s SAVE (Sterilize, Assist, Vaccinate, Education ) campaign.
To help Mark meet his goal, you can donate to his campaign on BackaBuddy here.
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