Rabid raccoon reported in Fairplay

October 08, 2008|By ANDREW SCHOTZ

FAIRPLAY - A raccoon found in an enclosure with two dogs at a Fairplay home tested positive for rabies, the Humane Society of Washington County said Tuesday.

It happened about two or three weeks ago, Humane Society spokeswoman Katherine Cooker said.

There were no signs the raccoon fought with the dogs, which are in a 45-day quarantine at their residence, Cooker said.

The dogs had had their rabies shots and were given booster shots as a precaution, a Humane Society news release says.

No humans were exposed to rabies in this case.

No other details were available Tuesday afternoon. Cooker referred additional questions to the Washington County Health Department, which was closed for the day.

Cooker said the dogs are large, but she wasn't sure what breeds they are.

She said the Humane Society issued a news release Tuesday to urge the public to be careful about rabies, a potentially fatal disease.

The news release says most local rabies reports this year have been around Clear Spring, "spreading southward through the Williamsport, Fairplay and Boonsboro (areas). ... This seems to be due to the need for wildlife to find a source of water and the animals possibly following the Potomac River."

The Humane Society plans to hold a rabies clinic Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at Doubs Woods Park, 1307 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown, as part of a Bark in the Park fundraiser.

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