Protesters rallied on Wednesday to save the life of the pet dog of an Ebola patient after Madrid officials demanded that the dog be euthanized.
Animal rights activists and supporters gathered at the Madrid apartment building where the dog, a mixed-breed named Excalibur, was seen howling from a balcony.
Excalibur has garnered international attention after his owner, the husband of a nurse infected with the deadly Ebola virus, issued a plea for his life. Supporters flooded social media in Spain with photos of dogs and cats pleading to spare the dog's life.
Rather than test the pooch for the deadly virus or quarantine him, heath officials have decided that the best approach is to euthanize Excalibur. “We cannot take the risk,” said Felipe Vilas, head of the Madrid Official College of Veterinarians, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
#SalvemosaExcalibur; con firmas y protesta defienden a mascota de enfermera con ébola. FOTOS: http://t.co/Y9XfH7WTZq pic.twitter.com/ydRXVqXAav— Pulso Online (@pulso_mx) October 8, 2014
There was confusion over the fate of the dog on Wednesday afternoon, as local news sources had reported the dog's death.
Representatives from the Hospital Veterinario de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid told Mashable that the dog had not been killed at their facility, and that the story in El Mundo was "wrong" and "completely false."
Spokeswoman of @unicomplutense says the @elmundoes story which said #Excalibur was put down is "wrong" and "completely false."— Lorenzo Franceschi B (@lorenzoFB) October 8, 2014
Animal rights activists at the scene indicated that the dog was still alive as of 4 p.m. local time. "Don't believe what they say out there. Excalibur is alive. We saw him with our own eyes," the president of a local animal rights organization said.
Atención16:00 h Excalibur sigue vivo. Nos lo ha confirmado un bombero. Información in situ de nuestros activistas #SalvemosaExcalibur— PACMA (@PartidoPACMA) October 8, 2014
Veterinarians were spotted at the apartment on Wednesday with a truck and what some protesters suspected to be a containment case on its trailer.
It's unclear whether the dog could be infected with Ebola and transmit it to humans, as there have been very few studies on the subject. One 2005 study, however, does seem to suggest that dogs can become infected, even if they appear to be asymptomatic.
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai contributed to this report.