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Rabies suspected in fox's behavior

Fox bites barrel of Caroline County man's shotgun

BY KATE HARMON

Date published: 5/26/2007

BY KATE HARMON

A Caroline County man shot and killed a young fox he believed to be rabid.

Tommy Upshaw said the fox was biting the barrel of his shotgun when he shot it behind his mother-in-law's carport.

Upshaw kept a shotgun at his mother-in-law's house just outside Bowling Green to shoot groundhogs that go into the garden.

Tuesday, about 6 p.m., a skinny, gray fox approached him on the carport. It had been there earlier.

"It just walked up leisurely like a cat," Upshaw said. "In my mind, I know it had rabies."

Upshaw and his mother had to be vaccinated for rabies in 1964 after being bitten by a rabid dog, so he wasn't taking any chances.

State Health Department officials refused to test the fox for rabies because no one had been directly exposed to it.

So far this year, Caroline County had one confirmed rabid case--a skunk, according to the Virginia Department of Health Web site. In 2006, Caroline had three confirmed cases.

Ken Harris, chief animal control officer for Caroline, said he wasn't sure why the health department wouldn't test all animals but that he suspected it was because of cost and the high number of possible cases.

"We try to encourage people to leave wild animals alone," Harris said.

The primary signs of rabies in an animal are if it acts uncharacteristically friendly or aggressive, he said. Another key would be if nocturnal animals were out during the day.

Sgt. Caroline Hairfield of Hanover County Animal Control added that a lot of curious young animals were outside this time of year and could be mistaken as rabid.

Not all signs of rabies are as obvious as foaming at the mouth, Harris said. If in doubt, residents should call animal control or the health department.

The Caroline County Animal Control office can be reached at 804/633-9041 or 911 at night.

Kate Harmon: 540/374-5000, Ext. 5779
Email: kharmon@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 5/26/2007