STANLEY WOODS’ CRITTERS: Vancouver Province
Thursday, November 19, 1998

North American Raccoon
Procyon lotor cancrivorus

Cute enough to die for, but not to your dog. The distemper spreading among raccoons is no danger to humans but could be a dangerous canine strain.
PHOTO: The Province, November 19, 1998

p. A35.

Antifreeze and sick coons menace pets

Distemper spreads; tasty winter coolant season starts

Keep an eye on your pets this fall.

That's the message from the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals because of an outbreak of distemper among raccoons in North Vancouver, and the annual widespread problem of animals getting into antifreeze supplies.

The problem with distemper, where the symptoms are lethargy and discharge from nose and eyes, is that it could be a canine strain that could spread to dogs with fatal results.

It is not related to rabies and is not a threat to humans.

The North Vancouver shelter of the BCSPCA has picked up 50 sick or dead raccoons in the past two weeks.

"We're picking up six or seven dead raccoons every day," said North Vancouver superintendent Jeff Lawson.

That's a significant increase from the normal rate of one a day.

Cooler weather means the use of antifreeze, and many animals like the taste of what can, in even the smallest quantities, have harmful or fatal effects.

As many as 88 per cent of animal encounters with antifreeze result in death.

The symptoms in animals who can ingest it simply by licking it off their paws from careless spills, can be one or any combination of vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, unconsciousness, drooling or panting.

A veterinarian or animal hospital should be contacted immediately if antifreeze poisoning is suspected. The SPCA advises that propylene-glycol-based antifreeze is a less toxic alternative to ethylene-glycol-based solutions.