Public Service Announcement: your dog’s saliva may not be as harmless as you think! A woman from Wisconsin has died from what doctors believe is an infection caused by her dog.

What is capnocytophaga?

TMJ4.com reports that the deceased, Sharon Larson, 58, sustained a minor bite from her puppy and within 24 hours, she had to be rushed to the hospital where she was tested positive for capnocytophaga and passed on 2 days later.

The deadly disease which is found in dogs, cats, and humans in rare cases is transferred via saliva and can have life-threatening outcomes like gangrene, heart attack, and kidney failure. 

No ‘simple dog bite’

In extreme cases – 3 in 10 – the victims could die with a 24-72 hour window according to Centers For Disease Control and Prevention and unfortunately, Sharon was an extreme case.

Hopefully they put the dog down

— Leslie Echols (@echolsnordie) August 13, 2018

Stop letting dogs lick you in the face… https://t.co/xIkUt3IB4q

— Beautiful Chaos (@butifulchaos) August 12, 2018

Her husband, Dan Larson, is still having a hard time processing the sudden turn of events. Especially because he was told that the disease was extremely rare.

Great, now more people will dump their dogs in over crowded shelters. It is very, very rare and there is usually an underlying medical problem, in the person, not the dog.

— Tru 🌊 (@Truactive) August 12, 2018

her immun system looks weak then

— Cornelius Vanderbilt (@Erdem01Erdem) August 12, 2018

However, her son Steve wants people to become more cautious. According to him, there’s no such thing as a ‘simple dog bite’. He knows better. But a few people online think the report and the calls for caution are a tad melodramatic. What are your thoughts?