In veterinary practice we see many types of pets. We see dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits and pocket pets.

A new novelty pet that has become popular the last year or two is the prairie dog.

Although we don’t see them daily, we see them regularly enough to be aware of some of the novel attributes they have. While I personally am intrigued by their appearance and behavior, I am also keenly aware of their potential downside. Today I’ll share with readers the risks of prairie dog ownership.

Last summer, there was a monkey pox outbreak in Texas and some other Southwestern states. After it was concluded that the disease in humans was traced to the movement of prairie dogs, laws were enacted to protect humans from this rodent-borne disease.

Why was the prairie dog disease allowed to spread before laws were enacted? Partly because the USDA only traditionally has regulated the importation of dogs, cats, turtles, monkeys and other non-human primates. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service only controlled the importation of endangered species. Therefore, rodents like prairie dogs flew “under the radar” of disease monitoring measures for imported animals.

In late June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services put two bans on the importation of prairie dogs. One ban was for an embargo on any rodent from Africa, and the other was a ban on any movement of prairie digs between states.

Another fact to be aware of is that animals caught in the wild pose a greater risk of disease than domestically bred animals, so those caught and sold in the U.S. cannot be deemed safer than those from overseas. These prairie dogs can bite any handler, dealer, health official and, yes, veterinarian that leaves a finger in the way.

“Those pets from the wild are loaded with parasites,” said Dr. Shawn Messonnier, a Plano, Texas, veterinarian who also writes for the Dallas Morning News. They may carry plague, tularemia, Lyme disease, erlichia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, he said. All these diseases carry potential communicability to people.

Texas is the leading state as a source for prairie dogs, with about 20,000 sold each year, according to David Crawford, executive director of Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, an advocacy group in Colorado. He added, “if monkey pox somehow gets released into the wild animal population, we’ve got a disaster on our hands. They’re struggling to survive.” His group opposes the selling of prairie dogs, and regard the outbreak “as not totally unexpected.”