Rabid raccoon vs bull mastiff
The first case of raccoon inflicted rabies in Ottawa has struck in almost a decade. Animal services officer picked up two bull mastiffs after they escaped their owner’s yard and placed them in cages in a van with a sick raccoon. Somehow, somehow? the raccoon and one of the dogs got loose from their cages and fought in the van, leading to injuries for both dogs. First of all, how and why a raccoon would be in the same general area of two dogs is beyond me. Two bull mastiffs and a raccoon in the back of an animal control vehicle? Thank goodness the lion, crocodile and pear partridge where transported in a separate vehicle, allegedly these animals were searched for weapons, handcuffed and transported to custody. Officials say that this strain of rabies arrived in Canada from an American refugee raccoon that had entered Canada illegally. The dogs’ were placed under strict quarantine as soon as it discovered the raccoon they’d scrapped with tested positive for rabies. The dogs have been inoculated against the virus will be required to be kept in isolation for three to six months to ensure they are free of rabies. The raccoon has be detained in custody pending assault charges and potential extradition proceeding. Hamilton public health and animal services officials are meeting with the province’s Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care to review its protocols, namely the security of cages in its vehicles and whether wild rabid raccoons should be transported in the same vans as and blood thirsty bull mastiffs.
