On Saturday, February 23, a raccoon was found inside a residence on Pennington Road. It is not clear how the raccoon got inside the house but it was lethargic, drooling excessively, and had a wobbly gait. Instead of calling the police or animal control, the residents decided to take the raccoon to the Mercer County Wildlife Center. At the Center, the raccoon was euthanized due to clear evidence of severe neurological illness. Testing done by the state health testing laboratory a few days later confirmed that the raccoon had rabies.

Belinda Ogitis, Animal Control Officer for the Hopewell Township Health Department states that handling injured or sick wildlife is not something the general public should ever attempt. She adds that the safest way to deal with a sick or injured animal is to alert police and animal control immediately. This is because handling  injured or ill wildlife can expose inexperienced people to injuries and dangerous and potentially fatal diseases, and that it is better to let trained personnel handle these situations.

Rabies is endemic throughout Hopewell Valley. All family pets must be vaccinated by the time they reach  three months of age. The Hopewell Township Health Department urges all residents to get their pets vaccinated for rabies at the free clinics that take place three times a year. The next clinic is scheduled for Saturday, May 10 from 10:00 AM to noon. If you would like additional information on rabies, brochures are available during normal business hours at the Health Department, which is located in the Township Municipal Building at 201 Washington Crossing Pennington Road. To learn more about rabies regulations for Hopewell Valley pets, go to www.hopewelltwp.org, then click on “departments,” then “health.”