Distemper or rabies...

GC

GC

Well-known member
Got a text from a buddy today. He was scouting deer sign in some woods when he walked up on a raccoon with either rabies or distemper. He said the coon was all sorts of messed up, slobbering, stumbling around, making some sort of weird noise with its mouth, and, in general, not acting like a healthy wild raccoon. He got close enough to shoot it with his Ruger LCR .38 Special. I don't know how close he actually was to the animal. The text left out a lot of information. He said he shot at it four times, he could tell he hit it at least twice, but not even sure where. This guy is an avid bow hunter, but not really a gun guy. He was carrying the pistol with a shot load up front for copperhead snakes and some hollow points after that. I don't know what hollow points he was using. Knowing this guy, I guarantee he got a little rattled by this. He said he left it lying and moved away from it. I am thinking it might have been canine distemper since the state conservation department sent out an psa about distemper cases in the state on the rise this year. It has been unusually hot and dry. I told him to report it to his county conservation agent; they are tracking this stuff. I am just happy he had a handgun with him. Normally, I don't think he would have, but he is seeing so many copperheads around that he felt he would likely need his .38 with him. It is a good reminder that it isn't always a bear or meth head that you have to look out for. Go healed fellers.
 
He did the right thing by just leaving it lay. Sounds like it could be either of the two diseases you mentioned. I'm sure it's like everywhere else these days... There's too damn many of them running around. If we aren't thinning them out, old mother nature will. And that usually isn't pretty! I agree that he should report it.
 
The PA Game Commission just did an aerial drop of rabies vaccine in 3 counties N of me last week. While scouting an oak woods this week here in Greene Co., I found one of the vaccine packets from a previous years drop. They must feel it is cost effective.
 
I shot a coyote in the town I live in a few years back that I'm pretty sure had distemper. It had no fear of humans whatsoever. I got a call that it was walking to to people at the gas pumps and someone tried to hit it with a shovel and it still hung around. I found it crossing the road into someone's yard so I pulled up beside it and it looked at me and just walked away. I hit it in the butt with a load of 3" #4 buck at 10 yards.

I called fish and game and they must not have cared because it laid on the side of the road until it rotted away. I'm sure some people driving by when I hopped out with that shotgun and saw that coyotes ass end lift off the ground are still wondering what that was all about.
 
The only case of this I have ever run into was when I was a kid living at home on the farm. I was probably 14-15 years old and was doing something in the yard when a stray dog wandered out of our cornfield to the west of the house and into the yard. It was staggering around, slobbering, growling, and acting super strange. I ran into the house; Dad was at work, but my mom was there. We watched the dog for probably five minutes, and it was a complete mess. Mom said to shoot it; I fetched my shotgun and killed it from the back patio deck. I got a shovel and wheelbarrow and loaded the dog up and trucked him down to the creek behind the house. Mom brought a gas can, and we doused the dog with gas and set it on fire. When Dad got home, he took the tractor down there, dug a hole, shoved the carcass in, and covered it. I have killed coyotes and foxes with the mange, but not anything that made them act like that dog at the farm did that day.
 
I'm not an expert at either disease. But like you remark GC. A critter will act messed up. I've seen 1 day time coon & 1 squirrel. That acted like they were on drugs. The squirrel was on a lower tree limb. Biting the limb & making a high pitched shrill scream type of noise. The coon looked like it was drunk & was having a bad hair day.
 
I have seen a fox that probably had rabies during rabbit season years ago. Put it down and buried it. We were afraid someone's dog would find it. Scary stuff.
 
I've never seen distemper but about 15 years ago I had to deal with rabies. I was the Mayor of our little town and my next door neighbor was a animal hoarder. She fed ever stray cat in town and their numbers finally reached north of 100. A stray kitten got tangled up with a rabid coon, both her and her husband ended up getting the rabies shots. It fell to me to destroy over 100 stray cats.
Not an easy job with houses, cars, kids, and people you have to shoot around. I used my 40X small bore comp rifle, 99% head shots. Had to bag them and burn them in a hole. Took me over a week to get them all.
 
ues enough gun said:
I've never seen distemper but about 15 years ago I had to deal with rabies. I was the Mayor of our little town and my next door neighbor was a animal hoarder. She fed ever stray cat in town and their numbers finally reached north of 100. A stray kitten got tangled up with a rabid coon, both her and her husband ended up getting the rabies shots. It fell to me to destroy over 100 stray cats.
Not an easy job with houses, cars, kids, and people you have to shoot around. I used my 40X small bore comp rifle, 99% head shots. Had to bag them and burn them in a hole. Took me over a week to get them all.
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That is taking a mayor's job to a whole new level.
 
I was arm twisted into it and I was dumb enough to keep doing it for 21 years. I think the pay was around 5-600 a year, it literally cost me MANY THOUSANDS of dollars out of my pocket. I'm not bitter about it though, I always tried to do the right thing. Sometimes I got screamed at and cussed out and sometimes I was warmly thanked. As far as the rabies episode, I was the most qualified to do the job.
 
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