"Dogman" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:59:45 -0400, "cshenk" wrote:

We have problems with raccoons and bats here, and a variation of
something that hits the squirrels and makes them act rabid

It's probably distemper. Raccoons get it too.

Some of the symptoms of distemper are similar to those of rabies,
especially drooling.

Be thankful for the distemper vaccine; when I was a young boy (before
we had a vaccine for distemper), dogs used to drop like flies from it.
Whole neighborhoods of dogs. Dog owners back then feared distemper far
more than rabies, even though humans can't get it.

--
Dogman

We received a puppy for Christmas in 1971 or '72. He came from the SPCA,
and was sick, but they thought we could nurse him back to health, so they
let my aunt (the giver of the gift) bring him home. It was horrible. It
took him two weeks to die from distemper and can make me weep to this day.
Not something I would ever wish to see another dog suffer from, ever again.
I'll take the vaccination any day, over that disease.