
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 18, 1995                   TAG: 9502200007
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MATT CROWDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

`SICK POLECAT' IS 1ST RABIES CASE IN YEAR

When most people see a skunk, instinct tells them to hold their nose and hope they don't get sprayed. But skunks also may be the bearers of something far more serious than an offensive odor - rabies.

Tuesday afternoon in the Mount Pleasant area of Roanoke County, a rabid skunk burrowed under a fence and into Bobby Scruggs' dog pen, where it proceeded to chase the dog around the pen, biting it "a number of times," Scruggs said.

"I knew that he was a sick polecat when I first laid my eyes on him," Scruggs said.

One of Scruggs' neighbors heard the racket and shot the skunk. Scruggs then removed the skunk's head and turned it over to the county Health Department, where it was tested and found to have rabies. The dog, an Australian blue heeler, is confined to its pen until May 15, despite having been vaccinated for rabies in November, according to Scruggs. He said the doctor told him the dog would not become ill.

"With the vaccination she had recently and the one she had [Thursday] night, she won't have rabies," Scruggs said.

Dave Roberson, a county environmental health specialist, said this is the first rabies case in more than a year and cautioned people to steer clear of rabid animals.

"If a pet doesn't have its shots up to date, get it vaccinated. If an animal hasn't had its shots and is bitten, it has to be euthanized."

by CNB