JAY – A raccoon tested negative for rabies Monday after it was shot out of a tree Saturday as a precaution because it had come in contact with a dog at the base of the tree.
A passer-by noticed the raccoon about three-quarters of the way up the full-grown maple tree Saturday morning across from the AMVETS Hall on Main Street, said Jay Animal Control Officer Larry Wright on Tuesday.
Wright said the passer-by called police, and he was notified. The dog’s owner said the raccoon had gone up the tree Friday, he said.
Since there was a possibility the raccoon had come in contact with the Rottweiler/Chesapeake Bay retriever mix dog, Wright said he called Game Warden Tom Jacobs of Farmington to shoot the raccoon.
Wright took the dead animal to a state laboratory to have it tested Monday and the results came back negative that afternoon. The dog had been quarantined until the test came back, he said.
The dog’s rabies vaccination expired last year, he said, but it still gave the dog protection. The owner is having the dog’s vaccinations updated, he added.
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