Rabid Raccoon Attacked Dog In Meriden: Officials

MERIDEN, CT — A raccoon that attacked a dog in Meriden has tested positive for rabies, according to city officials.

Officials said the dog was fully vaccinated.

The Meriden Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that the state Public Health Laboratory has confirmed that the raccoon tested positive for rabies.

The incident happened in the area of Elliott Street near Cooke Avenue.

The Meriden Department of Health and Human Services is working with all who may have been exposed, according to officials.

“As the summer weather arrives so do the interactions between wild animals and people and their pets,” officials wrote in a news release. “All residents should take safety measures. In Connecticut, rabies is usually carried by skunks, raccoons, and bats but any mammal could carry the disease. The Department wants to remind residents to protect themselves and their pets from contact with these wild animals.”

Read more from the Meriden Department of Health and Human Services below:

Here are simple precautions that you can take:

• Vaccinate your pets. Be sure your pet dogs, cats, ferrets and other animals are up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations. Pets too young to be vaccinated should be kept indoors and allowed outside only under direct observation. Your veterinarian can let you know if your pet is too young to be vaccinated.
• Keep family pets indoors at night. Don’t leave them outside unattended or let them roam free.
• Don’t attract wild animals into your home or yard. Keep your property free of stored bird seed or other foods that may attract wild animals. Feed pets indoors. Tightly cap or put away garbage cans.
• Don’t feed, touch or adopt wild animals, stray dogs or cats. Enjoy wildlife from a distance. If you see that an animal is sick, injured or orphaned, call Animal Control (203-235-4179). Do not handle the animal yourself.
• Get wild animals removed from your home. If nuisance wild animals are living in parts of your home, consult with a nuisance wildlife control expert about having them removed.
• Teach children not to touch any animal they do not know and to tell an adult immediately if they are bitten by any animal.
• Let wild animals wander away if they are on your property. Bring children and pets indoors and alert neighbors who are outside.
• Report all animal bites or contact with wild animals to your local health department. If possible, do not let any animal escape that has possibly exposed someone to rabies.

For more information about rabies in both humans and animals, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/rabies. Contact the Meriden Department of Health and Human Services at 203-630-4226 or Meriden Animal Control at 203-235-4179.