A True Story: Pneumonic Plague Outbreak!

It was 1994 and my family and I were living in Chinle, a town at the mouth of Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Northern Arizona. We'd been there a little over 4 years at that point. It was a Tuesday morning and I was helping out the vet, which I did every week. She drove a mobile unit from Gallup, New Mexico, to spay and neuter dogs and cats. I encouraged boys and girls and their families to bring their pets in to see the vet when she was available. I did this by visiting classrooms during the week and talking about the proper health and welfare of their pets. It was always amazing to see kids actually bring their pets in dragging their parents along! That particular day, it was late afternoon when a Navajo woman and her 3 children came in with their cat. She was unaware of the danger. We all were, that is, until I unwrapped the blanket and saw the cat. I still have chills that run down my spine when I remember the buboes. It was a life altering moment for me and it can happen ANYWHERE.