Texas veterinarian mailed a dog's head to test for rabies. It's still missing.



See the most bizarre news stories from Texas. An East Texas veterinary clinic said the head of a possibly rabies-infected dog they sent through the mail never arrived at its destination to get tested.

See the most bizarre news stories from Texas. An East Texas veterinary clinic said the head of a possibly rabies-infected dog they sent through the mail never arrived at its destination to get tested. Photo: Bernard Weil/Toronto Star Via Getty Images Photo: Bernard Weil/Toronto Star Via Getty Images Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Texas veterinarian mailed a dog's head to test for rabies. It's still missing. 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

An East Texas veterinarian said the dog head she sent through the mail never arrived at its destination, KLTV reports.

The veterinary clinic in Sulphur Springs, Texas, a small town east of Dallas, mailed the head to an Austin lab months ago to test for rabies.

The dog was originally brought to the clinic because it began showing symptoms of the disease. It was euthanized at the owner's request after it bit a staff member.

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In order to make sure the employee who was bitten didn't need a vaccine, Dr. Leah Larsen, a vet at the Bright Star Veterinary Clinic, shipped the dog's head off in a marked cooler – something she said the clinic does about every other month.

The team hoped they would learn more about the dog within a few days, but when it was clear the package was missing, the vet techs who helped handle the dog drove to a hospital and began receiving their pricey vaccine treatments.

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In total, the clinic lost roughly $80,000 in lost wages and expenses for the vaccines, which are administrated over the course of a month, according to NBC 5.

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Fernando Ramirez is a reporter for Chron.com and the Houston Chronicle. You can read more of his stories here and follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93.