Raccoon hunt in South Yorkshire after dog bitten
September 1, 2010 | 0 Responses
A pet dog has been put down after a suspected bite by a rare American wild animal in the Barnsley area. The dog’s owners had reportedly seen a raccoon being walked on a lead near where they walked their Lhasa Apso. The local vet’s practice had to put the dog down as it showed the symptoms of paralysis similar to those caused by bites or saliva from native American raccoons. It is not known for sure what caused the paralysis, but vets have also been asked to help in the raccoon hunt in South Yorkshire. Racoons are native to America but they occasionally turn up as pets in UK households. Tick paralysis is also a possibility and has been reported in the UK and the raccoon in the locality may just be a coincidence, but the owners of the dog are concerned for other dog owners: ‘It is extraordinary why anyone would have one. They should be in the wild and not in this country as a pet. I don’t want a witch-hunt, but if there is an animal out there carrying the disease it may kill other dogs as well as mine.’
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