So sad, and scary. I take it you carefully discarded the container?

Animal control "doesn't work weekends"?! Because rabid animals only come out M-F, 9 -5? Lucky there was an officer available who knew what to do.

He sounds drunk on pyracantha berries to me. :0) It's that time of year when the berries are ripe! Robins are famous for limply falling all over and looking like idiots.....

"IF" he were rabid...he'd be foaming at the mouth and aggressive....not drunk and silly!

That is scary. It's sad, but you know you did the right thing. Rabies is nothing to mess with. That raccoon could have bitten someone's pet or a child. Lucky you were home to see it and take action.

Rabid animals are NOT always aggressive and foaming at the mouth like in the movies. The biting at his stomach could cross the line into self-mutilation. Sounds rabid to me.

That animal control doesn't work on weekends is beyond reason. Was this city or county services? You may have reached city and been misinformed. At least I hope so. It seems unconscionable not to have services 24/7.

> He sounds drunk on pyracantha berries to me.

I hope that was not the case, I would be sad for having overreacted. There is a pyracantha bush in our yard that does have berries, but having seen the poor creature it seemed obvious that he was sick or gravely injured.

The way the fur on his face was wet and matted, the swarm of flies buzzing around him, the way he kept biting at his abdomen, the way he didn't react to loud noises and the occasional spasmodic jerkiness to his movement all gave a picture of animal not just drunk but very sick.

He was not aggressive, but aggressiveness doesn't always occur in rabies, and only manifests during part of the time when rabies is active.

We did call the county police number, which is the number listed for the country animal control. Both the person I talked to and the county police officer who arrived confirmed that the animal control officers do not work on weekends. Though he noted that sometimes those officers do shifts of crowd control for the Saturday home football games.

Scary. I wonder if there is anything more I should do.

Yes! Assuming the animal was rabid...you need to wash down any area where he may have left any bodily fluid...including small dots of spittle. Any fluid it left behind can/will transfer a live case of rabies to anyone who has contact with this fluid...including you, your wife and any of your pets. It's advisable to use a strong Clorox and water solution. Be sure to clean any outside areas, as well. If you question the procedure...contact your vet and ask his advice.

Nicole is somewhat misinformed about a rabid animal's behavior. The poor animal you described certainly showed the behaviors.....including the biting of itself. Scary.

I wonder if you should make a call to someone on Monday to report a suspected rabid racoon. Seems like there ought to be an agency that keeps track of things like that.

Ditto Anne's advice.

We had a raccoon staggering around and ending up on our porch years ago. It looked sick. We called the authorities, and shot him while we were waiting. The person who showed up said the raccoon wasn't rabid, but had a fatal skin disease similar to mange. I'm not sure how he determined that, but he did say to use a bleach solution to clean the porch.

don't know where you are, but in Texas any officer would have known to take the animal in for testing.

Rabies is a constant "maybe" here, & the health departments have to have data on occurrences.

Raccoons are just nasty. This one definitely sounded rabid. I'm puzzled, too, why the carcass wasn't sent to the state for testing.

The raccoon should have been taken in and tested for rabies. My neighbor works for the County Health Department and told me that they freeze the head and send it on to the state for testing. I'm surprised that officer didn't know that.

I wondered also about the field burial. Here no matter how rural the area it would be expected that they would do testing. Even small critters like bats are taken in too be tested. It's a public health concern as well as a wildlife one and it matters where the animal was found in regards to domestic animals that may have been in contact with it.

Even a domestic animal who happens to bite someone at a veterinary practice during. say, euthanasia or treatment just before dying of illness or accident will be tested for rabies if there are no vaccination records available. If the animal is dead you cannot quarantine so there is no other option. So it's a good time to stress that all pets should have current rabies vaccinations. Hard enough to lose a pet than having the thought of it being beheaded post mortem.

Tissue samples are taken from two areas of the brain, the stem and the cerebellum, and sent to the labs that do such testing.

wrong.

Raccoons aren't "nasty";

they're clean, intelligent, charming animals.

A sexually mature raccoon is not charming. They are aggressive and dangerous, especially when cornered or threatened. They also carry fleas.

Raccoons are NASTY. They kill small pets and harbor diseases.

Raccoons are the nastiest, most destructive animals I've ever had contact with. Anyone who thinks otherwise is sadly mistaken about raccoons. They may seem cute and charming when viewed from a distance, but if one gets in your garage or attic, you will change your mind very quickly.

I agree with the intelligent part--we lost quite a few chickens to raccoons. No matter how many times we repaired wire surrounding the hen house, they always managed to find a way in. If trapped, even the half-grown kits are vicious.

One possibility: The raccoon had fleas. Biting fleas can keep an animal for getting enough rest, and the animal will dig at itself in an attempt to rout a biting flea.

And not just wild animals . . . I'd be pretty vicious if someone caught me in a trap too.

Definitely should have been taken in for testing! Stump on the 'grave' or not, I would think that if some other animal smells and wants to dig it out, they'll probably find a way to get to it.

jemdandy, the fact that this raccoon paid no attention to noises, or tried to escape confinement, sounds more than a case of fleas to me.

Yep your description fits a rabid animal. They're not to be messed with since they may have lost all fear and will bite anything.