From Greece to GARC: A journey to understanding rabies

We step into the shoes of someone who grew up in a country without rabies where roaming dogs are typically friendly and not seen as a nuisance, to understand how their perceptions evolve as they learn about the challenges posed by rabies.

I can't recall a time in my life without dogs around me. Since I was three years old, my family always had dogs—ranging from one to over a hundred at one point (but that's a story for another day!). This upbringing made understanding dog behavior and handling them second nature to me, much like speaking your native language without consciously learning its grammar and rules.

I particularly remember being surprised by a dear friend from India who was conducting academic research in Greece. He once looked at a small dog on a lead that - to me - was clearly looking a little threatening and a bigger roaming dog coming towards us wagging its tail, and he thought the smaller one looked friendlier… luckily, he opted to not approach either, but the fact that he could clearly not read the signs still baffles me to this day.

Lucky enough to have grown up in Greece, a country where rabies vaccination is mandatory and dog-mediated rabies has been eliminated, the only danger from a roaming dog was that it may grab your sandwich or pee on your car wheel. Even bite cases from the roaming dogs were uncommon as they were well adapted to community life. Therefore, it was incomprehensible to me that people in other places of the world may be afraid of dogs and not understand them, and as a result cause them suffering and even death.

Despite my professional work in animal protection over the years, it was not until I came to GARC that I fully understood: not only has rabies not been eliminated, but it causes immense suffering and death to both people and animals, especially in countries of Asia and Africa. Putting myself in such a position, a different picture emerged: if I was walking with my daughter to school and a pack of dogs came towards us, this could mean a death threat for us. If one of them is rabid and bites us, the closest hospital could be miles away (assuming we can even afford treatment) and once symptoms become obvious, rabies is no longer reversible. We would then suffer a slow and agonizing death, unable to eat and drink, with severe neurological problems manifesting.

This immediately creates an “us or them” situation, where we would do anything to protect ourselves and our loved ones. This, of course, does not excuse inhumane behavior but it does put people and animals in a very challenging situation of conflict - one that can be avoided by eliminating the disease through education within communities, coordinated efforts and, most importantly, dog rabies vaccinations.

For many of us in dog rabies free countries, this harsh reality is hard to imagine and easy to ignore amidst the daily barrage of negative news we witness. However, rabies is 100% preventable: we CAN eliminate it – and have already done so in many countries. Help us ensure that rabies becomes a zoonoses of the past, and that no parent needs to ever choose between saving their child and harming a dog.

->Are you in a rabies-endemic country? Take our Rabies Educator Certificate and (new!) Dog Welfare Certificate courses to help educate and raise awareness.

-> Are you in a non-rabies-endemic country? Support us to keep working in places where rabies still causes human and animal suffering.

Article contributed by: Kerenza Vlastou, Outreach Manager, GARC.