Geri Baldwin's letter in last week's Gazette Packet about the roaming red fox reminded me of a similar incident that occurred about six months ago. I was driving down Commonwealth Avenue near the Grape and Bean at about 8:30 a.m. when a raccoon, moving very slowly and unsteadily, meandered across the street in front of my car. I stopped to let it pass and was able to get a pretty good look at it. Something was definitely not right with it. Given the possibility that it might be a rabid raccoon, I pulled over and called Animal Control to report the sighting. The person manning the phone at Animal Control asked me where I had seen the raccoon and then told me that by the time they sent an Animal Control officer out, the raccoon would be long gone. And that was that.
I have no idea how many people work in our city's Animal Control Department, but I would guess that there are very few, and their ability to respond to calls may be very limited. But it seems to me that the possibility of rabid raccoons and foxes roaming our densely-populated neighborhoods should not be dismissed so nonchalantly.
Eleanor Shea
Alexandria