Excalibur, the dog belonging to a Spanish nurse infected with Ebola, was euthanized Wednesday by authorities despite a global social media campaign to prevent its death. The 12-year-old mixed-breed pooch was put down following a court order from officials seeking to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Madrid Department of Health in a statement said it "complied this afternoon with the resolution that called for the euthanasia of the dog belonging to the patient diagnosed with Ebola. The animal was sedated beforehand to avoid suffering."
Dozens of animal lovers clashed with police outside the house of Teresa Romero Ramos, 44, who on Mondaybecame the first person infected outside of West Africa after caring for a Spanish priest who died of Ebola last month. While at least one major study suggests dogs can be infected with Ebola without having symptoms, whether or how likely they are to spread the virus to humans is less clear.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.