SOUTH BEND — Local animal welfare officials are urging extra caution from pet owners after a rise in suspected distemper cases in raccoons.
South Bend has seen a spike in the number of sick raccoons, with as many as 65 euthanized in the past three-plus months, according to Jenn Gobel, director of South Bend Animal Care and Control.
“Just last month alone we euthanized 33 raccoons. Last September, it was two,” Gobel said. “It’s a substantial jump in sick raccoons. The majority of our calls lately have been sick raccoons.”
It hasn’t been an issue isolated to one part of town, Gobel said. Sick raccoons have been an issue across the city.
“We don’t have any idea why there’s been such an increase,” she said. “Even local veterinarians don’t have that answer. It’s a definite spike.”
It’s not a pattern that is replicating itself elsewhere in St. Joseph County.
“This time of the year we do tend to see more, but we really haven’t seen anything beyond normal,” said Genny Carlson, director of the Humane Society of St. Joseph County, which handles wild animal calls outside the city of South Bend.