I have a couple of rabies questions. Who is responsible for coming to your house to kill & pick up an animal that was caught by my dogs and could possibly have rabies? Who is responsible for taking the suspected rabies animal to have it tested for conformation?

The reason I ask these questions is that I had recently went thru HELL with these above cited issues but no one would come and help me. My brother was over my house during the day around 10:30 am to do some work on his truck and he had let my dogs out into my 2 acres fenced in yard. He had heard a commotion behind the garage and looked to find that 2 of my three dogs had a raccoon like it was a toy. He did say that it did not make any attempt to get away from them. He got the dogs away and put them in the house. He than called me to tell me and said that it was not moving. I made some quick phone calls to animal control and dep and both said call the other it is not their responibility. I asked my brother if he can trap it in a cage without touching it and he was able to. He told me that he came into no contact with it at all. In the next 3-4 hours, I was tried to get anybody to help me out. By the third call back to DEP, I was told that if I can safely discharge a firearm at my house to go ahead and do it. I told the lady that I am within the 500 feet law of discharging the firearm and she said that she didn't hear a thing. I had tried to get ECONN a try and they told me that it would be about 3 or so days till they could come out. What was I to do feed the dam thing till they got there. By the fourth call to animal control, the person said that she would have to call the boss to get direction of what to do. I had got a hold CT Heath Department and they told me all they need is the head to test for rabies. Once again another dumb answer to the problem. The only person that had really helped me was a lady in the Health department lab. All this calling had me pretty ticked off that my taxes goto all these departments and no one would help out. When I got home, I had come to a point that I would kill it and take the animal up to Hartford for testing. The good thing was that it was dead when I checked on it. So the issue of who to kill it was taken care of. I was going to call the police to get thier take on the use of firearm 500ft but since it was dead I didn't have to. When my wife came home she had taken care of what to do with the dogs. Our vet said get over there ASAP to have them checked out and rabies booster shots. I had asked them if they could help me with dealling with the dead animal since noone else would. They got the paperwork for me that lab lady said i would need to get it tested. The vet had no problem getting the paperwork and filling it out for me. After getting home from there I went out to the shed where it was and put the dead raccoon into double HD trash bags using rubber gloves and took it up to Hartford. Luckly that they have a outside drop box. Sometime during going to there and back animal control called and said leave the dead animal in a bag by the road and they would come by to pick it up in the morning. Another dumb answer, lets leave a dead animal by the road for either another animal to fease on it or a kid play with it during the night. After 2 days animal control called me back saying that it tested POSITIVE for rabies so now my dogs are on lock down for 45 days. Animal control got some information from the Health Department on rabies to pass to me and she kept a copy for them since they have never delt with this before. That sounded kind of funny to me, animal control not having delt with rabies before. I asked the lady if she was going to inform the people in the surrounding area and it was stated that it would not be neccessary. My wife said the heck with that and called some of the neigbors just to inform them that we had a raccoon with rabies and to just be aware that there may be other animals with rabies around.
This whole ordeal just pissed me off because this is the fourth time it has happened to me and no one had taken responsibility to deal with a possible rabies animal. The three previous times the animal was NEGITIVE for rabies. They are quick to take my tax money but not to quick to help out in this type of a situation. Can you please shed some light on who the responsiblity falls on when you have a animal that may have rabies.
thanks
glenn

You should have gotten the local news stations involved. I'm sure they would love a story about a killer desease like rabies that was brushed aside the government agencys that are supposed to deal with it. Tax payers money, hardly at work.

We used to be very involved in dealing with rabies vector species, but in all honesty, we just don't have the personnel to do it any more. We have dropped from 64 officers in 2001 to 47 today. At the same time the areas that we are responsible for continued to grow. Something had to give. We were getting hundreds of calls for bats in houses, skunks under porches, etc., a lot of them in the middle of the night. We would send officers out (and it cost overtime to do so)and by the time they got from their home to where the animal was, dispatch it then take it to Hartford and go back home they were usually up for most of the night. If they were scheduled to work days that day, they were pretty much shot after being up all night and this had a negative impact on our ability to perform our other required functions during the daytime. We have and continue to provide assistance in cases where there is an actual threat to public health from rabies. However, there have been some changes made in the past year with regards to our response.

In your case it looks like your dogs attacked the raccoon, not that the raccoon was chasing your dogs or you around the yard. Based on the guidelines (see below), this would be a low risk exposure as there was no human contact. Your local Animal Control Officer (ACO) should have responded.

By statute control of rabies falls under the Dept of Agriculture (that's where all the dog laws are), not DEP. Your local Health Department and ACO are the first level responsible. Many local ACOs refuse to deal with anything other than dogs, but the statute for rabies gives them the authority to deal with it:

Sec. 22-359. Control of rabies. (a) The commissioner (of Agriculture) may make such orders for the adequate confinement, control or destruction of any dog, cat or other animal as he deems necessary to prevent the spread of rabies and to protect the public therefrom provided, notwithstanding the provisions of section 22-358, a local director of health may order the destruction of any unowned animal which is not currently vaccinated for rabies for the purpose of rabies testing if the director finds that the animal has bitten a person and the health or life of such person may be threatened. Any person who fails to comply with any order made under the provisions of this section shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars. The commissioner, the Chief Animal Control Officer, any animal control officer or any municipal animal control officer may quarantine any animal in a public pound, veterinary hospital, kennel or other building or enclosure approved by the commissioner for such purpose, if in the determination of the commissioner or such officer, such animal is rabid or is suspected of being rabid, or has been bitten by, or may have been bitten by, or has been in contact with or exposed to, a rabid animal or an animal suspected of carrying rabies or any wild animal as defined in subsection (d) of this section. The length of such quarantine period shall be determined by the commissioner or the State Veterinarian who shall take into account the age, general health and vaccination history of the animal as well as current accepted veterinary practices. Any suspected or confirmed case of rabies shall be reported to the commissioner by a local director of health or board of health or any veterinarian within twenty-four hours of receipt of such information.

(b) Any dog, cat or other animal held in quarantine which is clinically diagnosed as rabid by two licensed veterinarians, at least one of whom shall be engaged in private practice, shall be humanely euthanized immediately without prior notice to the owner or keeper of same. No person who kills any animal in accordance with this subsection shall be held criminally or civilly liable therefor.

(c) Any animal, other than a dog, which is quarantined pursuant to this section which is not claimed by its owner or keeper within the period of such quarantine may be sold by the municipal animal control officer, if he finds that the animal is in good health. The animal may only be sold as a pet to a person who satisfies the officer that the animal will be given a good home and proper care. The municipal animal control officer may retain possession of such animal for such additional period of time as he may deem advisable in order to place such animal. Any animal, other than a dog, which is quarantined pursuant to this section which is not claimed by its owner or keeper within the period of such quarantine and which is not sold by the municipal animal control officer within five days of the expiration of such quarantine may be disposed of at the direction of the State Veterinarian. No person who disposes of any animal in accordance with this subsection shall be held criminally or civilly liable therefor.

(d) The commissioner, any animal control officer or any state or municipal police officer may immediately kill any wild animal which is displaying behavior which causes the commissioner or such officer to reasonably conclude that such animal is rabid. For purposes of this subsection, "wild animal" means any mammal which is ferae naturae or wild by nature.

(1949 Rev., S. 3407; 1953, S. 1845d; 1963, P.A. 613, S. 29; 1969, P.A. 81, S. 4; P.A. 91-46, S. 7, 12; P.A. 92-77, S. 2, 5; P.A. 97-187, S. 2, 4; P.A. 98-12, S. 16, 22.)

History: 1963 act added provision empowering commissioner to order vaccination of all dogs in a municipality and dividing cost between dog owners and state and rephrased provision re quarantine of rabid animals and those suspected of being rabid or of having contact with other rabid animals; 1969 act replaced references to dog wardens with references to canine control officers where necessary; P.A. 91-46 deleted requirement that the commissioner immediately investigate certain reports of rabies, changed "dog" to "animal", included reference to vaccinations of cats and added provision requiring that suspected or confirmed cases of rabies be reported within twenty-four hours; P.A. 92-77 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize orders by the commissioner for control of rabies in cats and to expand circumstances under which the commissioner may quarantine animals suspected of being rabid, deleting prior provisions re specific circumstances and procedures for general vaccination orders, added new Subsecs. (b) to (d), inclusive, re euthanization of quarantined rabid animals, re procedures for disposition of animals abandoned while in quarantine and re killing of wild animals suspected of being rabid; P.A. 97-187 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize local directors of health to order destruction of certain animals for purposes of controlling rabies, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-12 changed "canine control officer" to "animal control officer", effective July 1, 1998.

Our current DEP policy is as follows:

In consultation with the Department of Public Health, we have developed the following updated guidance to the general public in cases that may involve potential exposure to rabid animals.

Exposure is defined as bites, scratches, or saliva contact with an open wound or mucous membrane. Rabies exposure can result when the rabies virus is introduced into a bite wound, or when fresh saliva or brain/nervous tissue is introduced into an open cut or mucous membrane such as the mouth or eyes, albeit, the primary route of rabies transmission is through a bite wound from an infected animal. All bites regardless of body site represent a potential risk of rabies transmission, but that risk varies with the species of biting animal and the location and severity of the wound. Contact such as petting or handling of an animal or contact with blood, urine or feces does not constitute an exposure and therefore do not warrant a response. Species posing the greatest risk of exposure include raccoons, skunks, foxes, woodchucks, bats and other carnivores. Small rodents such as squirrels, chipmunks, rats, mice, shrews and rabbits are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rabies is a medical urgency not an emergency. The vast majority of rabies exposures do not require immediate submission of the animal for rabies testing. The animal should be contained or refrigerated if dead and submitted as promptly as possible when local resources become available. Immediate submission is not necessary and DEP does not have the resources to provide capture or transportation of rabies specimens.

Persons bitten or scratched by a potentially rabid animal should be advised to thoroughly wash the wound with soap and hot water and to contact their local physician or Emergency Room for further treatment and medical evaluation.

We recommend the following guidelines be used to determine if an emergency response is warranted:

High Risk Exposures requiring an emergency response (If local PD/ACO not available – EnCon Response):
• Situations that involve an aggressive wild animal that is actively chasing and has attacked individuals or pets. These situations warrant an immediate public safety response that should include assistance with dispatching the animal and submitting it to the Rabies Virology Laboratory.

Medium Risk Exposures that require a response:
• Cases where individuals have been bitten or scratched when attempting to handle a raccoon, skunk, fox, bat, woodchuck, opossum or other carnivore.
• Situations where young children have been nuzzling or holding a young raccoon, fox or skunk in close proximity to their face or have had excessive unsupervised contact with a young raccoon, fox, skunk or bat.
• Cases where a bat has landed on an individual and has direct contact with bare skin or where an individual has captured a bat with their bare hands.

Low Risk exposures that should be handled by the local ACO, PD or Health Department (DEP will not provide assistance in these scenarios)
• Situations that involve a wild animal attack on a pet – including situations where copious amounts of fresh saliva are found on the coat of the pet and there is bare handed contact with fresh saliva by the owner.
• Raccoon, fox, skunk, woodchuck or other carnivore is seen behaving in an abnormal manner- i.e. stumbling, walking in circles, falling down, uncoordinated, attacking objects, or dragging its hind end. (A NWCO can be contacted if the local ACO or PD cannot respond to dispatch the animal).
• Cases where a bat is found in a bedroom where someone is sleeping, is intoxicated, is mentally impaired or is too young to know if they were bitten. These situations require that the bat be captured and submitted for rabies testing. (Advise them to contain the bat to one room, shut all windows, doors and closets and turn on light and wait for bat to land. While wearing gloves, place a coffee can or similar container over the bat and slide a piece of cardboard under the can opening and cover the can. The can should then be placed in a secure location until local authorities can arrange for pick up and submission. If unable to capture the bat they can call a NWCO for assistance. Calls can then be made in the morning to the local health department and physician)

No Risk – no response required – Rabies testing is not required. (Specimens may be submitted to the UCONN Pathobiology Laboratory for rabies testing at the owner’s expense. Individuals should be advised to speak with their local physician, NWCO may be called to assist with removal of the bat, or a wildlife rehabilitator may be contacted for placement of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife)
• Person handled dead animal or has had contact with blood, urine or feces of an animal that is sick, injured or orphaned.
• Individuals bitten by squirrels, chipmunks, rats, mice, shrews and rabbits while attempting to pet, feed or handle them.
• Cases where a bat is found flying in a household where it does not have access to any bedrooms (ex. bat on 1st floor and bedrooms on 2nd floor or bat in separate wing of the house) – advise them to open all windows and doors and allow the bat to exit the home.
• Nocturnal animal seen during the day but appears healthy.

ssnfreebee, make sure everything that came in contact with the raccoon is rinsed down with straight bleach, shovels, shed floor,ect.

Most likely the raccoon will be rabies free, but never take that chance.
It could have been foaming at the mouth because of the tug of war the dogs were having with it.

Had a rabbid raccoon I killed years ago in Windsor, dog warden
came out back then, told me to do the bleach rinsing.

Good Luck, let us know the outcome.

Buy a bow...problem solved. No minimum distance.

Dave

edit: ixnay on the crossbow suggestion, only works for Jan archery season.