Surprisingly, this Ebola dog story had a happy ending

A US nurse who recovered from Ebola has been reunited with her dog after he was released from quarantine.

Nina Pham was released last week after contracting the virus while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to die from Ebola in the US.

But she had to wait a bit longer to see Bentley, her one-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who was under quarantine at a decommissioned naval airbase in Dallas.

Bentley, who was cared for - and played with - by a team of animal experts wearing protective gear, was released after a 21-day quarantine when he tested negative for a third time.

"I feel like Bentley re-entering my life is another reminder of hope and encouragement for me moving forward and fulfilling my life to the fullest with my best friend by my side again," Ms Pham told journalists at a news conference.

She thanked members of the Dallas Animal Services for "caring for him as if he was your own and showing America and compassion and live is abundant and alive".

While Bentley's story has a happy ending, no such compassion was shown in Spain, where the dog of nurse Teresa Romero Ramos was put down when she contracted Ebola while treating infected missionaries, despite Excalibur never being tested for Ebola.

There are currently no official guidelines on how to treat Ebola in domestic animals, and it's not certain whether dogs can contract the virus.

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