From what everyone is saying on FB, it appears that the person who called in the complaint on Peanut is a local girl from here in East Texas. I'm working on a house in Longview right now, and that's where she lives.
When she made the complaint, she bragged about it because she felt that Peanut might have rabbis. After everyone found out that she did this, she apologized and closed all her accounts.
Peanut was Jewish?
(Sorry Mr. Walker, I could not resist.
)
Truth be told, any wild or domestic mammal could carry rabies. However, squirrels rarely carry rabies, same as mice, rats, etc.. rarely.
According to the AVMA:
Approved rabies vaccines are available for cats, dogs, ferrets, horses, cattle and sheep. Licensed oral vaccines are also being used for mass immunization of wildlife, particularly raccoons.
There is no rabies vaccine to give a squirrel.
The only way to check a squirrel for rabies would be to kill it and examine the brain tissue. Same thing for cats, dogs, bats, raccoons, etc.
The thing to do would have been to put the squirrel in quarantine and give any humans that had contact with it rabies shots. That's what we had to do with an unvaccinated kitten we had that tangled with a bat. 6 months of quarantine. All that really meant was we had to keep him in the house and not let anyone that wasn't vaccinated for rabies play with him for 6 months. Easily done.
Anyhow, many states have laws against keeping wildlife as pets. Rabies is the main reason. Wildlife trade is another reason.
Sad for the squirrel and people.
