Cases seen within the last month have raised cause for concern about keeping animals vaccinated, specifically for rabies and distemper.
In Tucker County, one skunk and one raccoon were both rabies positive. The raccoon in question bit a dog on Christmas Eve close to the Randolph/Tucker county line, which poses concerns for residents and their pets in the local area.
Rabies is nearly always fatal once it infects the brain of animals and exposed humans.
In the Harman area, a client had four sick dogs, and brought two who suffered from tremors and seizures. The test was negative for rabies, but positive for canine distemper virus.
In Dr. Lammie’s 15 years of veterinary work in this community, only one other dog has tested positive for the distemper virus, and it was a dog passing through Elkins from a Florida shelter. Distemper virus can cause diarrhea, crusty nose and eyes, pneumonia and neurologic signs. The virus can affect the brain to cause partial paralysis, twitching, seizures, death, and aggression similar to animals afflicted with the rabies virus. It is a much scarier virus than parvo because it can cause a degeneration of the brain months after the primary symptoms occur.
This is a good time to make sure that your dogs, even the older ones, are up to date on both rabies and distemper. Cats will not contract canine distemper but should be kept up to date on rabies even if they spend most of their time inside. Indoor pets, cats and dogs alike, are mandated to have a rabies vaccine, and it is also prudent to vaccinate your indoor dogs for distemper, because you never know when a raccoon may walk across your back deck. Horses, alpacas, llamas, and ferrets are susceptible to rabies, and should be vaccinated. Farm animals are also at risk and farmers may choose to vaccinate expensive livestock with a rabies vaccine.
Submitted by: All Creatures Great and Small
