Summary: Ebola is really, really hard to catch, but let's kill this Spanish nurse's dog just to be safe

Greg P. | 8:01 AM on October 08, 2014

This story out of Spain is making news today:

Meet Excalibur: Spanish officials want to euthanize him over fears that he could spread Ebola http://t.co/JJtu5Bn6Lg pic.twitter.com/RpxGlutBnQ

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 7, 2014

With a petition that’s already reached 300,000 signatures to spare “Excalibur”:

Petition opposing euthanasia order for #Ebola patient’s dog now has over 300,000 signatures. http://t.co/CGu24iix0H pic.twitter.com/ihBjI6AMt5

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) October 8, 2014

So there’s a worry that dogs can carry Ebola? Yep, via NBC News:

“There is one article in the medical literature that discusses the presence of antibodies to Ebola in dogs. Whether that was an accurate test and whether that was relevant we do not know,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said at a news conference Tuesday.

This sounds like another example, however, of authorities telling America how difficult it is to get Ebola, and then going and doing something that — at least on the surface — suggests that these same officials are much more worried about the spread of the virus than they’re saying in public.

Are they killing pet dogs in West African countries?

But there is an argument to be made that Spanish safety should come before any emotional response to losing a pet:

"Daddy, what happened to Spain?"
"Well, in the great Ebola outbreak of 2014 they just couldn't put down an infected dog."
– Circa 2020

— ¡El Sooopèrr! ن c137 (@SooperMexican) October 8, 2014