East Texas

By ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writer

HENDERSON - Sitting next to a skunk all day at work might create an uneasy feeling, to say the least. Not knowing about it until an animal control officer points it out lies between shocking and amusing. Finding out the skunk tested positive for rabies might call for reflection on luck.

Jim Burke, general manager of Coldvault Division of Bally Refrigerated Boxes, said he went through all of those stages after a skunk encounter.

One Friday in early February, workers in the office noticed skunks had made their way into the building. The workers checked the offices and closed the doors for the weekend, including Burke's, after the animals apparently exited. When Burke arrived on Monday, the office buzzed with the stories of the wayward skunks, Burke said.

The laughs turned to worry when Burke opened his office door to find his carpet and walls scratched to shreds and animal droppings behind the door. Burke closely inspected his office but found no skunk, he said.

Though he found nothing, he wondered how the skunk escaped his office. His anxiety led him to finally contact animal control later that day. Closer inspection of a small crevice between his desk and wall by animal control revealed a skunk curled up within 3 feet of where Burke had spent the day working. Testing in Austin came back positive for rabies.

"I thought it was funny but I am really lucky that it didn't bite me," he said. "I could have been in real trouble."

Burke has since taken measures to ensure the once-prevalent skunk problem around his office building was corrected and no skunks have been seen lately.

Henderson animal control supervisor Veronica Whittington, who helped extract Burke's skunk, said the regular springtime menace of skunks looking for a mate has turned from a nuisance to danger for pets and humans because of rabies.

This year, animal control has answered an extraordinary amount of skunk-related calls, the likes of which Whittington has never seen.

Since mid-January, animal control in Henderson has answered numerous calls and captured more than 20 skunks. Ten were tested and four came back positive for rabies.

For Whittington, the troubling trend involves the triangulation of the skunks found with rabies. Animal control reported positive rabies cases in the 1800 block of E. Main Street, the 200 block of Smith Street, the Industrial Park and near Rusk County Cemetery on U.S. Highway 259 North.

Whittington believes more infected animals are present both inside and outside the perimeter. While finding skunks at most of the locations can be explained by their proximity to wooded areas, the location on Smith Street raised Whittington's concern because it is primarily a residential area and skunk sightings are rare.

Department of Health Services regional veterinarian James Wright said skunks are the most prevalent carriers of rabies. According to Wright, there were 1,154 skunks tested in Texas in 2007 and 362 were infected. He said the increase in cases is part of a southward to northward trend in rabies-infected skunks. In past years, Nacogdoches and Angelina counties have shown a spike in cases and it is just Rusk County's turn, he said.

Whittington said the best precaution people can take is avoidance. Avoid the animal and report it to animal control, especially if the animal is present in daylight hours or staggers as it walks. She said there are five main carriers in the area: skunks, bats, coyotes, raccoons and foxes.

Whittington said pet owners who regularly feed their animals outside should take extra precautions to keep their animals from coming in contact with other animals.

"The skunks take it as an opportunity for an easy meal," she said. "They smell cat food and they come up to porch to eat.

Both Wright and Whittington said pet infection and the need to euthanize animals are greatly reduced when vaccinations are current.

"It is rare, rare, rare, if the animal is not overdue," Wright said. "We feel comfortable that vaccinated animals are well protected."

Pet owners should have their animals vaccinated for rabies and can do so at local veterinary clinics. Wright said that while most infections occur in dogs, incidents involving cats are on the rise.

Whittington said pet owners should take precautions to avoid the decision one grandmother and pet owner made recently after her three dogs fought with and killed a skunk that tested positive for rabies.

"She has grandchildren and she had the dogs euthanized because it wasn't worth the risk to the children," Whittington said. "She had the dogs long before the grandchildren but she wasn't about to risk anything."