You ask: Where has he been the last few months? Has he been bitten recently?

Family: Well… we did went to his grandma's farm for vacation a month ago. But my boy never ever mentioned about being bitten. We don't remember seeing any sign of bite marks ever. We also have a dog but our dog is really really nice. He isn't aggressive or anything. He wouldn't bite our boy. No no...

Dr. Shelly: Well. I think the dog is the most likely suspect. The dog probably bit him. We should put down the dog and check its brain to see if it has rabies
Real Audio(.rm),    Wav File(.wav),

Dr. Begely: Don't you think that's a little drastic? Putting down a dog? I mean, the family says he's fine. The dog hasn't shown aggressiveness nor is he foaming from the mouth like this poor guy. He probably got bitten when he was at the farm...maybe from a raccoon. A small bite.
Real Audio(.rm),    Wav File(.wav),

Hmmm... well, how do we proceed?

 Play it safe with Doc Begely. Check to see if the boy has any bite marks.

 Kill the dog and see if it has rabies. Doc Shelly's simple explanation makes sense.