Attacked by a rabid coon!

[rdbandkab]

It doesn't matter if the squirrel or any other mammal that bites you is rabid or not. If you can't capture the critter it is safer to assume that it is rabid and get the shots.

My wife feeds wild birds behind our house..  Unfortunately, that means she feeds all types of wildlife back there.   She got nipped by mom raccoon a few years ago and had to go the rabies shot regimen.  She still feeds the birds, but maybe has a bit more respect for the wilder beasts. 

One day  while shooting the critters, I picked off one and quickly went to retrieve the body but the critter was just dazed and bit me on the hand when I picked him up.  Long story short, I did not tell any one about it but my sister found out and ratted on me . The body an me and mom and sis  went to town (ASAP), to the Dr. and oops..rabid.  14 shots in the stomach, one a day! The needle looked like a sewer pipe.

Poor kid..   I only wish that karma on the older folks...

[kirby1923]

Sorry you went through all that.  Who told you the Ground Squirrel was rabid?  The only way to know is to perform microscopic analysis on the animals brain tissue.

From the CDC "Small rodents like squirrels, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, chipmunks, rats, and mice) and lagomorphs including rabbits and hares are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans."

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

Sure wish you had been there to tell them that!
It was unknown if it was actually rabid but the decision was made (I had nothing to say about it!) that it was better to be safe than sorry.

[sidmonsters]

Raccoons certainly can carry and transmit rabies, though if you see one off its rocker it is more likely to have distemper.  Solution to either is .22LR, but not in the head if anybody has potentially been exposed, as brain analysis in the path lab is the only certain diagnosis.  And it doesn't make sense to aerosolize/splatterize the potentially infective gray matter anyhoo.  As a DVM, I am more worried about this nasty roundworm they carry asymptomatically that can do awful things if humans become infected.  So wash your hands after handling, bleach soiled areas, and for the love of all things Holy cover your (grand)kids sandbox.  Even cat and dog roundworms occasionally go off the rez and end up in eyeballs, brain tissue, etc.  Oh, and don't allow raccoons into your cereal boxes.  drool.gif  I appreciate raccoons, and even brake for them in my car.  And even leave them alone even when they are causing a commotion around my deer stand.  But when our paths cross at home, I invoke my own "castle defense" and send them to Jesus.  I remember once they moved into our garage when we were gone for 7 days.  Ate all our cat food.  And all that business about washing their food...please...the y crap everywhere, even where they sleep.  Lots of rubber gloves and Clorox upon our return, especially since my kids were quite young then.  Trapped a whole family, one per night, for 6 nights in a row.  All were reunited at the pearly gates...yick.

[rodekyll]

I chased a HUGE brown rat through the neighborhood when I lived in Aberdeen, WA.  I didn't have to chase it hard because it was staggering and weaving from whatever made it sick.  It had been seen for a few days in the area and everyone was in a panic because it was so obviously unwell.  We really wanted to bean it with a shovel instead of the gun but it kept to the hedges and culverts and other places where we couldn't swing a stick.

I was chasing it and shooting it with a Walther PPK in .32.  I couldn't just hose it on account of it was a busy neighborhood and a lot of folks were spectating.  We didn't want extra drama, so my shots had to be careful and planned -- most from about 4-6'.  I could see the bullets hit it and one even rolled it over.  But it kept waddling on.  We finally got it trapped in a corner of someone's foundation footing and dispatched it.  The darn thing had six holes in it.  You'd think the weight of the lead would have stopped it.

That was the last time I used a .32 on anything.  Useless darn round.

[ITSec]

Really...........wh at part of the South were you raised in?

St Louis - and in the early sixties, it was definitely, culturally, still a part of the South!

[Rough Edge racing]

I chased a HUGE brown rat through the neighborhood when I lived in Aberdeen, WA.  I didn't have to chase it hard because it was staggering and weaving from whatever made it sick.  It had been seen for a few days in the area and everyone was in a panic because it was so obviously unwell.  We really wanted to bean it with a shovel instead of the gun but it kept to the hedges and culverts and other places where we couldn't swing a stick.

I was chasing it and shooting it with a Walther PPK in .32.  I couldn't just hose it on account of it was a busy neighborhood and a lot of folks were spectating.  We didn't want extra drama, so my shots had to be careful and planned -- most from about 4-6'.  I could see the bullets hit it and one even rolled it over.  But it kept waddling on.  We finally got it trapped in a corner of someone's foundation footing and dispatched it.  The darn thing had six holes in it.  You'd think the weight of the lead would have stopped it.

That was the last time I used a .32 on anything.  Useless darn round.

  You were pretty drunk? 

[rodekyll]

I was pretty, but not drunk.

[normzone]

Hey, we could divert the thread even further by engaging in caliber worship !

" That was the last time I used a .32 on anything.  Useless darn round. "

And you know what they say about a .25 -

" If you ever shoot me with a .25 ... and I find out about it ... "

[rodekyll]

 . . .or not.

[wildebube]

Raccoons certainly can carry and transmit rabies, though if you see one off its rocker it is more likely to have distemper.  Solution to either is .22LR, but not in the head if anybody has potentially been exposed, as brain analysis in the path lab is the only certain diagnosis.  And it doesn't make sense to aerosolize/splatterize the potentially infective gray matter anyhoo.  As a DVM, I am more worried about this nasty roundworm they carry asymptomatically that can do awful things if humans become infected.  So wash your hands after handling, bleach soiled areas, and for the love of all things Holy cover your (grand)kids sandbox.  Even cat and dog roundworms occasionally go off the rez and end up in eyeballs, brain tissue, etc.  Oh, and don't allow raccoons into your cereal boxes.  drool.gif  I appreciate raccoons, and even brake for them in my car.  And even leave them alone even when they are causing a commotion around my deer stand.  But when our paths cross at home, I invoke my own "castle defense" and send them to Jesus.  I remember once they moved into our garage when we were gone for 7 days.  Ate all our cat food.  And all that business about washing their food...please...the y crap everywhere, even where they sleep.  Lots of rubber gloves and Clorox upon our return, especially since my kids were quite young then.  Trapped a whole family, one per night, for 6 nights in a row.  All were reunited at the pearly gates...yick.

Aren't they also a vector for leptospirosis?  Yet another nasty bug that can be fatal to humans.

[Bill929]

I've been through the rabies - series twice.  I was a wildlife biologist in my early days and worked regularly with raccoons.  The vaccines are no big deal, a series of six shots (the first time, less next time!) in alternating arms that are no worse than a tetanus shot.  Raccoons do get feline distemper and the symptoms are very much like rabies (staggering, etc.), so if the offending raccoon tested negative for rabies, it is highly likely that it had feline distemper.  As stated above, it is extremely rare for opossums to be infected with rabies.  Their low body temp may be the reason, but it is not known for sure.  The more alarming fact is that, in the south, as much as 50% of the raccoons may carry rabies.  They have the ability to carry the disease for quite some time without showing ANY symptoms, so if you come into contact with a raccoon (i.e., any type of saliva or bodily fluid) , even one that appears normal, you need to see a doctor and probably should go through the - series - it is a pain to make six trips to the doctor for shots, but that is one hell of a lot better than the alternative as rabies is 100% fatal.     

And yes, raccoons are a vector for leptospirosis, but that is a much greater risk for your dog or cat, especially if you keep a water bowl outside as the raccoons will drink from it at night, which could infect your dog or cat the next day...

[Rough Edge racing]

Hey, we could divert the thread even further by engaging in caliber worship !

" That was the last time I used a .32 on anything.  Useless darn round. "

And you know what they say about a .25 -

" If you ever shoot me with a .25 ... and I find out about it ... "

 Not exactly off topic because people, some who are here, may use a firearm on a racoon...If you think small caliber isn't deadly, think again..President McKinley, Mayor of Chicago and Robert Kennedy were all killed by 32 caliber pistol shots. I believe President Reagan and Brady were shot by a 22 pistol.....I know for a fact a 22LR head shot will drop a large eastern coyote at 75 yards...
   

[redrider]

This discussion illustrates precisely why I have no tolerance for the "Bambi Bimbo" mindset. Nature is a cold place with danger everywhere. Be wary and carry a firearm. That new "Explore the Forest" PSA is not based in reality, IMO.

[Rough Edge racing]

This discussion illustrates precisely why I have no tolerance for the "Bambi Bimbo" mindset. Nature is a cold place with danger everywhere. Be wary and carry a firearm. That new "Explore the Forest" PSA is not based in reality, IMO.

  Wary is not enough, a person needs to have knowledge of the animals that comes from experience . We walk often through dense wood known to be inhabited by coyotes ,snakes and maybe black bears. I always carry a small folding knife and never carry a firearm...However there are areas with potentially dangerous animals that should be avoided.....Never fear nature but always  respect it...

[oldbike54]

 Hell , I lived in the forest for years , never had any woodland creature threaten me . The big bad wolf was a children's cautionary tale .

 Dusty

[Lcarlson]

I grew up amid the forests of northern Massachusetts and spent lots of time in the woods -- never gave it a thought. Nobody was armed, anywhere, except during hunting season. Of course, New England doesn't have any Grizzlies (think The Revenant) or mountain lions.

[yogidozer]

I grew up amid the forests of northern Massachusetts and spent lots of time in the woods -- never gave it a thought. Nobody was armed, anywhere, except during hunting season. Of course, New England doesn't have any Grizzlies (think The Revenant) or mountain lions.

No mountain lions in Ct.? Don't bet your life on that

[Lcarlson]

No mountain lions in Ct.? Don't bet your life on that

Well, one WAS killed on the Wilber Cross Parkway last year....  Anyway, they're not common, at least for now.

[oldbike54]

Well, one WAS killed on the Wilber Cross Parkway last year....  Anyway, they're not common, at least for now.

 We have a few roaming Eastern Oklahoma , mostly along the Illinois River basin . They don't ever seem to bother anyone due to the abundance of deer .

 Dusty

[kirby1923]

Hell , I lived in the forest for years , never had any woodland creature threaten me . The big bad wolf was a children's cautionary tale .

 Dusty

You resemble that remark!

:-)

[oldbike54]

You resemble that remark!

:-)

 Well of course 

 Dusty

[Arizona Wayne]

Wild animals, if feel threatened, or their offspring, you better get the hell away or have a weapon to protect yourself.

A few years ago a female runner on a trail in a norCal forest didn't know it but she came upon a mt. lion and her cubs.............th e runner was killed.   She was on private property and wasn't supposed to be there.  It cost her her life.

[rodekyll]

In Alaska we've had four bear maulings and three kayak fatalities so far this year.  Three motorcyclists killed too.  None of these people were where they were supposed to be.  None were following the rules.  All thought they were magically impervious to the natural order of things.  And they were all dead wrong.

Be safe, not a statistic!