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Distemper Affected Raccoons Limited to Tod’s Point So Far

Police, Animal Control, and and health officials have been investigating cases of dead or sick raccoons found in Greenwich since the beginning of February.

On Saturday, February 22, the town closed Tod’s Point (Greenwich Point Park) to all dogs, causing a delay to get into the park as Animal Control Officers stopped cars, turning back those containing dogs.

Since then, more than four additional sick or diseased raccoons have been reported in the area. These four most recent animals have not yet been tested for a specific disease.

Greenwich Animal Control reports that although the raccoons have been reported near the area where those infected were originally found, until they are tested, there are several possibilities to explain the behavior. All confirmed instances of these reports thus far have been located in or near Tod’s Point. They have not occured in other areas of Greenwich, despite rumors on the internet picked up by blogs, including unverified claims of a sick raccoon in Cos Cob and one in Backcountry.

Thankfully the disease is not rabies, rather, after extensive testing, health authorities have confirmed that the deceased raccoons have tested positive for distemper.

Distemper is a viral disease that is contagious in many animal species, especially dogs. Animals can become infected from saliva or direct contact with an infected animal. While distemper does have some similar symptoms to rabies (both exhibit neurological symptoms, such as partial paralysis and seizures), distemper is considered an upper respiratory disease, meaning fever and a runny nose are common symptoms not found in rabies-infected animals. The key visual symptom found in animals infected with rabies is foaming at the mouth.

Unlike rabies, distemper cannot transfer to humans, so preventative measures need to be taken for pets. Unvaccinated dogs and puppies are the most susceptible to canine distemper, making vaccination the best course of action to prevent your pet from getting infected. Distemper is one of four vaccinations that veterinarians recommend to all dog breeds and the vaccine takes as little as three days to become effective. While distemper is certainly less fatal than rabies, it still has a fatality rate of 50%. If infected, supportive treatment is the only available option, since there is currently no known cure for the disease.

In order to protect Greenwich from further illness, the Director of Health has ordered a ban of all dogs from Tod’s Point – Greenwich Point Park – in the hopes of preventing the disease from spreading to the canine population.

“For now, we’re going to see how things progress with the population and if it continues or not,” said Michael Long, Director of Environmental Services.

Officials are also encouraging pet owners to keep their dogs on a leash and avoid wildlife. Since cases of distemper seem localized in Old Greenwich, unless it continues to spread, no other action will be taken by officials. In the mean time, contact your veterinarian with questions or to talk about the distemper vaccination.

UPDATE:

Restrictions will continue at Tod’s Point/Greenwich Point Park Due to the Outbreak of Distemper and Disease in the Raccoon Population.

The park will continue to be closed to dogs as per order of the Director of Health until further notice.

The Gatehouse at Greenwich Point will be appropriately staffed, the staff will inform park users that dogs are not allowed.

The Department of Parks and Recreation staff has been working with the State DEEP nuisance wildlife biologist on developing a plan to manage the significant raccoon population at Greenwich Point. The Town of Greenwich has contracted a licensed wildlife management company to mitigate the issue that is underway at this time.

Greenwich Police Department will be assisting in this effort, there will be information signs posted at the intersection of Shore Rd. and Sound Beach Ave.

Photos by John Ferris Robben

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