Spanish Health Officials Euthanize Nurse's Dog For Ebola Precaution

Protesters and animal rights activists were livid in Spain this week after the health department decided to put down a dog that belonged to a nurse infected with Ebola in an effort to reduce the spread of the deadly disease.

The husband of María Teresa Romero Ramos reportedly implored Spanish health officials to spare the life of his wife's 12-year-old family dog, who had been around Ramos when she contracted Ebola while working in Madrid.

Javier Romero, who is in quarantine along with his wife for the deadly disease, released a video earlier this week asking people to help him save his dog. "I'm in the hospital and I'm making a call to all people to help me save my dog Excalibur because they want to kill him just like that, without following any procedure," Romero said in the video.

The cause gained momentum on social media, with people starting the #SalvemosaExcalibur, or "Let's Save Excalibur" campaign. Despite the protests, Excalibur was reportedly euthanized out of extra precaution for the health of others.

Meanwhile, the Spanish nurse who is infected with Ebola says she has no idea how she got the disease. The nurse hasn't visited to West Africa, but treated two of the Spanish missionaries who had been infected with the virus while working there. She says she followed all of the nursing protocols and doesn't know how she became infected with the virus.

"I can't tell you, because I have no idea," the nurse told Spain's El Mundo. When asked if she did anything that violated nursing protocols, she reportedly replied "Absolutely not."