THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 13, 1996 TAG: 9606130362
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY AND ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: 120 lines
Pattie L. Klein was striding toward a pond in her Chesapeake front yard last week, when she was confronted by something bizarre.
A raccoon was in her path. Instead of running away in fright, it stared at her and puffed up its body, as if daring Klein to come any closer. As she walked away, Klein noticed the animal swaying from side to side and trying to bite its own tail. But the raccoon, which later tested positive for rabies, didn't try to follow her or attack.
Virginia Beach resident Sharon Ryan and her 3-year-old son, Nathanael Schoolcraft, weren't so lucky.
A rabid fox attacked and bit the two and a neighbor last month. Ryan and her son on Monday finished a course of rabies vaccinations to prevent them from developing the deadly disease.
Ryan and Klein have something in common. In both cases, city animal control departments were alerted about the animals running loose, but couldn't or decided not to help.
Ryan and Klein say they expect more from their animal control bureaus, particularly now that Hampton Roads is dealing with a serious rabies epidemic.
Local animal control officers say they are concerned about the problem, but there's only so much they can do to capture animals on the loose, even if they are behaving strangely or threatening people.
``It's not that we won't respond, but we need to respond effectively,'' Kathryn J. Umberger, coordinator of Chesapeake's Animal Control Bureau said. ``We know what works, and we know that usually we're not going to be able to pick up a wild animal by hand.''
There's no hard-and-fast rule for how officers will respond; those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, police and animal control officials say. Officers must judge how much of a threat an animal poses, and whether there is a realistic chance of catching it.
There have been 54 cases of rabies reported in Hampton Roads and on the Eastern Shore this year so far, said F.J. Bolshazy, Norfolk's Rabies Prevention Coordinator. That compares with seven cases of rabies reported in the 10 years from 1980 to 1990.
Rabies was virtually eradicated in the Southeast after the 1950s, according to Valerie Reich, environmental health supervisor for the Virginia Beach Health Department.
But late in the 1970s, hunters and trappers imported sick animals from Florida to restock an area in the Shenandoah Valley. The disease migrated north into Washington, D.C., Maryland and Pennsylvania, then slowly moved down the Eastern Seaboard.
In August 1992, a Virginia Beach couple became the first in the area since the '50s to be treated for exposure to rabies when their pet raccoon tested positive for the disease, Reich said.
``There seems to be a misconception on the public's part on what we can accomplish,'' saidUmberger. ``If we got very, very lucky, and it ran into a shed or a shelter or something, we might be able to catch it.
``But if it's running around outside, we can't put our hands on it, we can't reach down and pick it up, we can't outrun it. There's not really much chance of us being able to catch it.''
Sometimes it's a question of resources. In Virginia Beach, for example, there are 20 animal control officers; they received a total of 35,179 calls in 1995, said William H. Clark, head of the department.
In Chesapeake, there are only nine officers to cover a city that still has huge tracts of rural and wooded land. On weekends, the animal control officers take turns on call to respond to emergencies from home.
Animal control officials in all Hampton Roads cities offer residents the use of cage traps, which capture animals alive. Once the animals are caught, officers will come and take them away. Residents never have to handle the animals.
But Virginia Beach resident Barbara Hinman doesn't think residents should be responsible for the traps. Hinman complained twice about a raccoon in her yard, but was told that she'd have to contain it before an officer would respond.
``What is animal control for if they're going to put people at risk?'' Hinman said.
Ryan also is dissatisfied, and is considering filing a complaint with the Beach department. An animal control officer visited Ryan's neighborhood after a neighbor complained about being chased by the fox, but couldn't locate the animal and advised the neighbor to set a trap. Ryan, her son and another man were bitten later that day. ``A lot of people are angry,'' Ryan said.
Klein said her husband called the Chesapeake Animal Control Bureau when she spotted the raccoon, but no officer came out, Klein said. Klein's husband stood on their porch and shot the animal with a rifle. A neighbor who is a veterinarian had the raccoon tested. It was infected with rabies.
``I felt like they (animal control officers) should have been more concerned, especially when we found out it was rabid,'' Klein said.
Some citizens are complaining about the area's animal control officers, who say they can't respond to every call. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
RABIES SAFETY TIPS
Hampton Roads animal control officials say residents should call
if they have a problem with animals, particularly ones appearing
sick or vicious. But there are things residents can do to help:
Buy a humane cage trap, which captures animals alive, from a
local hardware store. Or borrow a trap from your city's animal
control department. Some departments have a waiting list for use of
the traps and require a small deposit, which is refunded when the
trap is returned. Officers will show you how to bait and set the
traps, and will remove the traps when animals are caught.
Make sure your dogs and cats are up to date on their
vaccinations. Keep them confined to your home or yard.
Don't approach wild and stray animals.
Keep your yard free of food or debris that could attract
wildlife.
Report all animal bites or contact between pets and wild animals
to your city's animal control or health departments.
Warn children to report any bites or scratches.
If you think you may have been exposed to rabies, ask your doctor
whether you need treatment. Injections to prevent rabies are no
longer given in the stomach.
Animal control department numbers
Chesapeake: 487-2212
Norfolk: 664-7387
Portsmouth: 393-8876
Suffolk: 925-6416
Virginia Beach: 427-4158
KEYWORDS: RABIES HAMPTON ROADS by CNB