Rabid Raccoon Fights Dog In Essex County, N.J.

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Every suburb encounters raccoons and other wildlife, Maplewood town officials say. There’s no way to capture them all. There’s no way to remove them all.

And sometimes, raccoons – including rabid ones - are going to come face to face with people and their pets.

On Monday, town officials issued an alert about a “rabid raccoon and dog fight in Maplewood” that took place last week. The raccoon was captured by St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare and tested positive for rabies at the NJ Department of Health on Sept. 25, officials said.

The dog’s owner is being contacted concerning the need for a vaccination, officials said.

Maplewood officials released the following statement about raccoons and rabies in the area:

“Maplewood has hundreds of raccoons and they are part of the normal wildlife that is abundant in our suburban town and there is no way to capture and remove them all. Their preferred home is the hollow of old trees. The first step in preventing rabies is to have your dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies. Raccoons with rabies in a contagious state are usually very sick animals. They stumble and fall and have difficulty walking. Sometimes the raccoons do become vicious. A raccoon that is normal is usually walking around looking for food or climbing fences and trees. They are curious animals and often go onto people’s decks looking for food. Keep your garbage secure so that raccoons do not use your garbage as a food source."

• See related article: Rabid Fox Bites Essex County Woman Trying To Protect Children
• See related article: Raccoon With Rabies Found In Middletown Twp.

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File Photo (not the animal in the above article): Darkone / Wikimedia Commons