It’s rare for dogs and raccoons to encounter one another and have any sort of interaction due to the fact that raccoons are nocturnal. However, it’s important to understand that they can still leave behind some things that can be dangerous to your dog. Hiring professional wildlife removal service for raccoon removal is an essential step in the safe removal of the animal and protection for your dog.
We’re going to discuss the dangers of the urine and the poop that raccoons leave behind after they’ve been through your yard.
Raccoon Latrines
For dog owners who aren’t familiar with raccoon poop, it’s important to know that it can look very similar to that of dog poop. Raccoons will poop anywhere in your yard. They’re not particular as many dogs are. Just like cats, raccoons tend to go wherever they are and will typically return time and again to the same area. They create their own little latrine where they urinate and poop on a consistent basis. This can result in a large pile of raccoon poop. Should you spot an area where there is a large amount of animal poop, it’s likely raccoon poop. You’ll want to get this cleaned up immediately because raccoon poop can become a serious danger to your pets. Raccoon poop is a host to many serious diseases that may also infect your pets.
Leptospirosis
Raccoons can transmit a condition called leptospirosis through their urine. This is a bacterial infection that causes symptoms similar to the flu. Dogs can then pass this condition on to humans when they come into contact with the dog’s urine. It’s very important to keep dogs away from areas in the yard that raccoons may frequent. Typically, a dog will ingest the urine from the raccoon’s latrine or they may drink water from a puddle or a stagnant pond that has been contaminated with leptospirosis. The dog will begin to experience aches and pains and sore muscles. As it progresses, the dog may spike a fever and their eyes will begin to yellow. Diarrhea, lethargy, and eventually, dark urine will follow. For any dog that spends a lot of time outdoors, it’s important to ensure that they’ve received a leptospirosis vaccine.
Giardia
Giardia is another condition that raccoons can readily pass on to other animals. Giardia is passed from the raccoon to a dog and finally to the dog’s human with disastrous results. Dogs will get the giardia via raccoon feces or by drinking infected water (again, a puddle or other water source outside). Giardia causes vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea, and finally weight loss. Many dogs won’t show any symptoms at all so annual fecal exams are vital to keeping giardia in check. When a dog develops unexplained vomiting or diarrhea, the veterinarian should always check for giardia.
Raccoon Disease
Also referred to as roundworm, this happens when dogs eat the raccoon feces that have been infected with a parasite called Baylisascaris procyonis. The dogs become infected with the worms and then can pass it along to humans. This is called a zoonotic disease (passes from animals to humans). while it may not directly affect the raccoon, it will cause issues in the dog as the larva migrate to their brain and attack their central nervous system. Early stages may be mistaken for rabies. symptoms include loss of coordination, difficulty swallowing, loss of muscle control, confusion, circling, and seizures.
Canine Distemper
Toronto was plagued in 2009 by distemper. It killed off hundreds of raccoons and skunks. Distemper can’t be passed along to humans, however, it’s spread to gods that become infected with it via food, urine, water, or poop. Puppies are especially vulnerable to this condition. Keep your dog’s vaccinations up to date to prevent this deadly disease.
Today a lot of pets are being abandoned on the streets and in many other places. The case might be different if the pet is left abandoned on the street. But the complication increases if the pets are left alone with no one to take care, in your rental property. If you are the owner of the land, in most cases, you will be held responsible for the safety and life of the abandoned pet. So here are the steps that you have to follow if you find an abandoned pet on your property.
Try to spot the owner:
This is probably the first thing that you will be able to do once you find an abandoned pet on your property. If you are able to locate the owner and hand over the pet to him, this will probably leave with less to no complication. However, if you either can spot the pet’s owner or if the person denies taking care of the pet, then the problems arise. Abandoning a pet in an offense in a lot of places and thereby both the parties will face legal consequences where they are expected to sort the issue.
Ensure Protection:
In the meantime when you are in the pursuit if finding a permanent solution for this abandoned pet, it is important that you ensure proper protection for the pet. Till you find the owner the pet is in your custody and thereby you will be held responsible if anything happens to the pet in the meantime. Also at the same time, you are still a stranger to the pet, and they might act a little indifferent which might lead to risking your own safety. So, ensure your protection as well.
Look out for help:
Out of all the job that we have, taking care of an abandoned pet and looking for its owner and taking care of it is not possible, so the next best option you can settle for is that you can approach the animal control board. The animal control board will help you with whatever is happening with you. You can narrate the incident and leave the pet there. The owner will, later on, be traced by the board and necessary steps will be taken.
Let them handle:
Once you have the authorities in then all the procedures that follow are in most cases legal. There are two things that you have to keep in mind if you have decided to approach the authorities. Make sure that you have taken reasonable care of the pet and protect the life of the pet that was abandoned in your premises. Once the owner gets in touch, you can seek grievance and the expenses refunded as well.
So these are the few things that you have to remember if you find an abandoned pet on your rental property.
Having pets at home is really fun. But apart from the fun factor, there are also a lot of health benefits that people get to enjoy if they have pets at home. So here are top 5 reasons as to why pets are good for your health.
Increased number of years:
A lot of research studies have proven that having pets at home can increase the longevity of the person’s life. It can be any pet and research says that this theory applies even if you have an aquarium at home. The survival rate was better for people who had pets that people who didn’t have one. This is simply because people with pets were happier and content when compared to others who didn’t have one. This is the reason why they lived longer.
Increase in levels of oxytocin:
Oxytocin level is said to increase in our body when we are around pets, especially dogs. Otherwise known as the love hormone or the trust hormone, this oxytocin is said to secrete better when our pets are around us. There is a major increase in the oxytocin level in your body in less than just 30 minutes of playing with your pup. Secretion of oxytocin helps you fight a lot of negative issues such as depression and other psychological problems.
Fights depression:
This is just an extension of the points that are stated earlier. But depression is a major problem that most people face today and thereby it is worth mentioning once again. Playing with your pets can help you fight depression and increases the secured feeling and the feeling of being wanted. Pampering your animals can actually boost your mood and makes you feel better if you have had a long depressing day.
Reduces loneliness:
Most people who are forced to live along due to work and other commitments are found to have pets to kill the feeling of being alone. The feeling of loneliness strikes in when you have nobody around to play and talk to. Now if you have pets at home you can talk to them, play with them and kill time that would otherwise have gone brooding.
Helps with cardiac health:
Walking pets around, pampering them and playing with them can help you with your cardiac issues. If studies are to be believed, people with cardiac issues and pets managed to live quite longer than people who have issues but not pets. One other complication that is closely related to heart is diabetes. Pets can also help their owners fight diabetes. As we saw earlier, since pets can help you fight conditions like depression, pressure and loneliness it can save your heart as well, because these issues are pretty much close to affecting your heart.
