To the normal eye she looks like a perfectly healthy 4 year old. But to her mom, she is Rabid Britin.
While in Idaho on vacation I was privied to witness the rabid come out in her. Well, maybe that isn't such a privilege. One night we went to the restaurant for dinner since my sis and I had been out most of the day running errands and chasing 8 kids. Fun for us. So, we did the cheater-thing and went out for dinner.
Britin CHOSE a grilled cheese sandwich for her dinner. Grilled cheese sandwich coming up! Note- this is one of her favorite things to eat. She LURVES cheese! So I was thinking she made a perfect selection. Dinner comes and she doesn't touch it. She is just enjoying the rootbeer (mommy usually doesn't let the chillins have soda). Finally, I took her soda away and said that she couldn't have anymore until she ate her sandwich and fries. WOW! Not the thing to say.
Some kind of chemical thing happened in her and she flipped out. LITERALLY! She slinked down off of the bench and onto the floor. I tried to grab her and she went at me with her legs, kicking like a crazy woman!
(Sorry for the major use of exclamation marks, but I really mean EVERYTHING! If you had been there you would totally understand!)
Finally I was able to grab her and drag her out from under the table. She was screaming and hitting and still trying to kick, although I had both of her legs and the kicking didn't really get to me. I sat her down (all the while she is still yelling). The patrons of the restaurant didn't know when they sat down to dinner that they were also going to get a show. And what a show it was!
I have NEVER seen Bits this crazy. That's the only way to describe how she was acting.
Back to my story- she wouldn't calm down so I took her to the bathroom, thankfully it was a single. On my way our waitress asked if everything was okay. Umm, does it look okay? "Sure, she is just having a cow, don't mind us."
I thought the bathroom was a good idea. Later I found out that it just echoed, making it possible for the WHOLE restaurant to hear what was going on instead of our small little corner. At this point my BIL (who is the manager) came out to the table and asked my sis if we were okay. NOPE, sure not.
In the bathroom all I could do was laugh. She had scraped up my neck (drawing blood even- good thing I am up to date on my tetnus shots). She was balling her hands up into fists and turning red. I laughed even harder when she screamed in a possessed-esque voice "THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" I said,"yes, it is." She kept repeating it until she came after me with her claws primed and ready for attack.
That was the point when I had to grab her and take her out to the car and get her strapped into her seatbelt. It was all about containment at that point. So, I told my sister I would be in the car. I felt bad leaving her with my other 3 (along with her 4) but there was nothing I could do. I had Bits slung over my shoulder, still kicking.
In the car it was a struggle to get her buckled in, but I was triumphant. The mom ALWAYS wins.
In the car she cried and screamed until she started to cough. The coughing turned into a fit and eventually she puked all over herself. Nice mother that I am handed her wipies (the mothers' miracle) and told her to clean it up herself. Not too long afterwards my sister came out with 7 kids trailing behind. All of them well-mannered (ya, they saw mom go crazy when Bits threw a fit. They didn't want any part of that!). Smart sis boxed up the dinner and brought it with her and when we got back to her place Bits had to sit down and eat the rest of her dinner while the rest of the kids got dessert.
Since then we have had occasional rabid moments.
Here is part of an article in the local paper about what happened.
"This incident does not indicate that the general public should fear [Britin], but it certainly does illustrate why it's a good idea to admire [Britin] from a distance and to not do anything to lure [her] close or to try and capture [her]," says Doug Messerly, DWR regional supervisor.
"Even animals that appear healthy will defend themselves when they're in contact with people. A bite or a scratch can cause infection or even transmit other diseases besides rabies."
The majority of rabies cases occur in wild animals, such as raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes and [Britins]. Domestic dogs, cats and cattle are also susceptible to the disease.
"In the United States, exposure to rabies is rare in humans, but it does occur from time to time, [as in Britin's case]. The numbers of human deaths in the United States associated with rabies is currently one or two a year, and death only occurs in people who fail to seek medical help until after the disease symptoms have started.
"[Luckily her mother was not infected from the heinous scratch to the neck.]
"If people observe any unusual or aggressive behavior in [Britin], they need to leave [her] alone and report the observation to local police and the Division of Wildlife Resources," Messerly says.
"It can be a big mistake for people to try to help what appears to be an animal in distress. Please leave [her] alone, and let wild [Britin] be wild."
(No, not really- please don't tell me you actually thought there was an article written about Britin. Actually this is a real article- I just changed it a little to fit my story. Heehee!)
Theme song for today- 17 Goin' on Crazy by Smashed Gladys.
While thinking about what to write I was talking to my sis who witnessed said occurance. I told her that when a man and woman get together they give off phermones that attract each other. When Britin and I get together I give off some hormone that makes her go rabid. I doubt there is a pill for this, but if any of you could find one, I would pay serious moola for it!
