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The Walpole animal control officer has confirmed a case of rabies in that town, and he thinks it won't be the last one this year.
John Spillane said a rabid raccoon on March 9 lunged at two Akitas tied up outside a Washington Street home, biting one of them on the lower leg before the dog killed it.
The woman who owns the dogs phoned Spillane, who took the dead raccoon, decapitated it and delivered the head to the state laboratory. He learned last week that the raccoon tested positive for rabies.
Because the dog was up to date with its vaccinations, it was given a booster shot and placed in quarantine at home, where it will remain for 45 days to make sure it doesn't come down with the disease.
If the Akita hadn't been vaccinated, the owner's choice would have been a six-month quarantine or euthanasia.
Spillane said the case in Walpole leads him to believe there's going to be a high incidence of rabies in wild animals this year, perhaps as many as 20 to 30 in town.
"It's hard to say because if I get a call for a sick (wild) animal, I just put it down," he said. "We've had a quiet last two years, and rabies rises and falls in cycles."
"It's not a normal thing for a raccoon to come out of the woods and go after big dogs," he said.
With the arrival of spring, the possibility of running into a rabid animal increases, though rabies in domestic animals is rare and it is even rarer in humans.
Rabies is fatal if left untreated.
The chances of human infection are rising with the coming of spring.
"Obviously, the spring and summer are more active (for rabies) because more people are outside," said Dr. John D'Esopo, a veterinarian at Dr. Wolf's Medical Center in Dedham and the town's animal inspector.
So far this year, one animal - a squirrel - has been tested for rabies in Dedham, said Health Director Catherine Cardinale. The test came back negative.
Last year, nine animals were tested for rabies and two raccoons came back positive, she said. In Norwood, two cats with "wounds of unknown origin" were quarantined last year but did not come down with the disease, said Michael Cahill, rabies program coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
The Walpole animal control officer has confirmed a case of rabies in that town, and he thinks it won't be the last one this year.
John Spillane said a rabid raccoon on March 9 lunged at two Akitas tied up outside a Washington Street home, biting one of them on the lower leg before the dog killed it.
The woman who owns the dogs phoned Spillane, who took the dead raccoon, decapitated it and delivered the head to the state laboratory. He learned last week that the raccoon tested positive for rabies.
Because the dog was up to date with its vaccinations, it was given a booster shot and placed in quarantine at home, where it will remain for 45 days to make sure it doesn't come down with the disease.
If the Akita hadn't been vaccinated, the owner's choice would have been a six-month quarantine or euthanasia.
Spillane said the case in Walpole leads him to believe there's going to be a high incidence of rabies in wild animals this year, perhaps as many as 20 to 30 in town.
"It's hard to say because if I get a call for a sick (wild) animal, I just put it down," he said. "We've had a quiet last two years, and rabies rises and falls in cycles."
"It's not a normal thing for a raccoon to come out of the woods and go after big dogs," he said.
With the arrival of spring, the possibility of running into a rabid animal increases, though rabies in domestic animals is rare and it is even rarer in humans.
Rabies is fatal if left untreated.
The chances of human infection are rising with the coming of spring.
"Obviously, the spring and summer are more active (for rabies) because more people are outside," said Dr. John D'Esopo, a veterinarian at Dr. Wolf's Medical Center in Dedham and the town's animal inspector.
So far this year, one animal - a squirrel - has been tested for rabies in Dedham, said Health Director Catherine Cardinale. The test came back negative.
Last year, nine animals were tested for rabies and two raccoons came back positive, she said. In Norwood, two cats with "wounds of unknown origin" were quarantined last year but did not come down with the disease, said Michael Cahill, rabies program coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
And there were no rabies cases in Westwood last year, although three animals were submitted for testing, said Health Director Linda Shea.
But residents shouldn't become lax about vaccinating pets just because there were no rabies cases in town last year.
"Although you may not see a positive in several years, it's just a matter of time until we have another. The best thing to do to protect you and your family is to vaccinate," said Cahill.
Vaccination and licensing clinics for cats and dogs will be held in Dedham from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 19 at the Animal Rescue League at 55 Anna's Place, and from 9 a.m. to noon on April 5 at the Carby Street Municipal Office Building at 50 Carby St. in Westwood. The cost of the vaccine, required for dogs and cats by state law, is $10 in Westwood, and $8 in Dedham. Microchip implants - for animal identification - will also be offered at the Dedham clinic for $15.
For residents of Norwood and Walpole, towns that won't be offering clinics this year, vaccines are administered for $14 at the Norwood and Dedham Petco locations year-round. The stores are located on Providence Highway.
LuvMyPet - an organization that provides vaccinations by licensed veterinarians in 23 states - offers the shots every other Sunday in Norwood from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and one Saturday a month between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. at the Dedham location. This month's Dedham clinic is March 29.
Ferrets can also be vaccinated at the Petco clinics.
While the facts about rabies are well-publicized, Cahill estimates that only 70 to 80 percent of dogs and 30 to 40 percent of cats are vaccinated statewide. Because cats are a lot less likely to be vaccinated, the incidence of rabies among them is much higher, he said.
Rabies lives in saliva and nerve tissue, according to a Massachusetts Department of Public Health fact sheet. It is spread when an infected animal bites or scratches another animal or human, or if the saliva comes into contact with broken skin, open wounds, eyes, noses and mouths.
For adult animals, the vaccination is good for three years, said Cahill.
Pets that come into contact with wildlife - whether they are bitten or merely exposed to another animal's saliva - must be tested for rabies.
Any mammal can get rabies, he said. Although rare, rabies can show up in rodents, like squirrels and woodchucks.
"I had the first woodchuck in the state that came down rabid," said Spillane. "They said rodents couldn't get it. ... It climbed a six-foot high chain-link fence to go after a hound dog," he said. "The dog killed it."
Daily News staff writer Anna Kivlan can be reached at 781-433-8336 or akivlan@cnc.com.
