DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
5 comments:
Notwithstanding the fact that there have been some confirmed cases, many people move from urban areas to rural areas and are scared to death of any wild animal. The funniest thing is when people in development called Foxchase or Deer Harbor call the police because of fox or deer sightings. In thirty some years hunting and living in the country, I have only seen 2 rabid animals.
2:53 Same here... except it was ONE fox, and it was dealt with.
I don't hunt at all but have always lived out of town. I have encountered 3 rabid racoons in my life. A rabid racoon is the scariest/funniest thing I've seen in my back yard. I witnessed this animal make grown men, one a sheriff run and scream like 5 year old girls. Priceless to me.
They can be a challenge to hit with a handgun....shotgun is the best way to dispatch them. Once you have seen a rabid animal, you know the difference between an animal out for a stroll during the day and a sick one.
A couple years ago, we had a woodchuck come into our yard in downtown Pittsville, acting strangely, and I am positive it had rabies. It hunkered down under a wheelbarrow, and I went to get my rifle, but it was gone by the time I got back outside. A couple weeks later a rabid kitten was discovered just a couple streets over.
I called animal control and also the health department to report it, but since it was already gone there wasn't much they could do except take the information.
The only other one I've personally seen, was a raccoon just south of BJ's in Millsboro. It was hunched over, running but with a stiff hop, literally down the road, then we saw it cross right in front of us. It was drooling and slobbering, and its eyes were huge, staring and glassy.
To our horror, it made it across the road and ran directly under the closest house, in a development right off the road, in broad daylight. I was reaching for my phone to call 911, in case there were people or children in the house, but luckily a sheriff's deputy happened to be headed south in the opposite direction, and saw it too.
He slammed on his brakes and turned into the development, up to the driveway near where it entered the crawl space.
And there are still people who think all cops do is ride around looking for (black) people to harass. That coon probably would have hurt or killed someone, or spread rabies to pets there, if the officer hadn't been pro-active and taken the initiative to have it removed.
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