Authorities are seeking information on the woman who brought the raccoon.
A baby raccoon was euthanized in Maine in the United States because of concerns that it was possibly suffering from rabies. The animal was spotted at a pet store on Tuesday after a woman brought it there for nail trimming. nbc news Some people at the Petco store handled and even kissed the baby raccoon. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife asked for information in a Facebook post about the woman who brought the “teenage raccoon” to the store for a grooming service.
After reaching out to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Maine Warden Service about the raccoon, the store manager asked the woman to leave. Shop said further.
“It is illegal to keep wildlife in Maine, and Petco does not trim raccoon nails,” the department said on Facebook.
“Raccoons are one of the most common carriers of rabies in Maine. Rabies is fatal unless treated after exposure,” it added.
The Wildlife Department also urged people who may have come in contact with raccoons to contact their health providers.
“Rabies is transmitted through the saliva or nerve tissue of a rabid animal, and a person can be exposed when the saliva or nerve tissue of a rabid animal comes into contact with a person through a bite or scratch, in the skin gets cut, or gets the eyes, nose or mouth,” it explained.
Following the advisory, an update on the Facebook post said that the animal had tested negative for the disease, so those exposed to it no longer needed to be treated.
According to nbc newsAccording to Maine’s guidelines for rabies testing, euthanasia required the raccoon to be tested for rabies.