Dallas

Bentley's Quarantine Cost Dallas “Tens of Thousands of Dollars”

City expects to recover most of cost with donations and grants

Taxpayers have spent “tens of thousands of dollars” to care for the dog of a nurse who came down with Ebola, according to a city spokeswoman.

Nina Pham, now cured of the disease, and Bentley, her beloved one-year-old King Charles Spaniel, are set to be reunited on Saturday morning.

Bentley will be freed after 21 days in isolation. He has shown no signs of the disease.

It will take weeks to tally how much taxpayers have spent to care for the dog, said city of Dallas spokeswoman Sana Syed.

She added donations and grants should cover most of the cost.

NBC 5 Investigates asked for city records detailing the expenses. The documents cover the period Oct. 14-Oct. 21. During those eight days, the city reported spending $1,952 to care for the dog. The expenses include:

  • $757 for a truck and generator
  • $616 for "healthcare wipes"
  • $217 for "labor"
  • $192 for "gloves"
  • $40 for "duct tape"
  • $33 for "Clorox bleach"

Nina Pham in Photos

Syed cautioned the numbers offer only a small snapshot of the initial expenses and said final figures will be more than $10,000.

Pham, a nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, was infected with Ebola while she cared for Thomas Eric Duncan, who died of the disease Oct. 8.

When Pham was released last week from a hospital in Maryland, she asked for privacy “as I return to Texas and return to a normal life and reunite with my dog Bentley.”

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