Photo:Getty
Getty
As the woman waited for the grooming service, others in the store approached the raccoon to hold and kiss it, according to theMaine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife’s Facebook poston Thursday.
The store manager asked the woman to leave after they were notified of the raccoon’s presence and reached out to the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Maine Warden Service.
“It is illegal to possess wildlife in Maine, and Petco does not trim raccoon nails,” the post clarified.
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The agency then explained, “Raccoons are one of the most common carriers of rabies in Maine. Rabies is lethal unless treated after exposure.”
After advising those who came in contact with the raccoon to get tested for rabies, the updated Facebook post reads that the animal tested negative for the disease, so those exposed no longer need to seek treatment.
According to NBC News, the raccoon wasrequired to be tested for rabies in order to be euthanized, per Maine’s guidelines for rabies testing.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries concluded the post with a final reminder to “please ‘Keep Wildlife Wild’ and “If you care, leave them there.’”
Anyone with information about the woman with the raccoon in the photos posted on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife’s Facebook should contact the Maine Warden Service at 1-800-452-4664.
source: people.com
