Sick raccoons still a hazard for pet owners in Long Beach

The total number of raccoons carrying the viral disease that has recently broke out in Long Beach keeps growing.
Long Beach Animal Control has now collected more than one hundred raccoons with distemper throughout the city. Animal control officers were getting ten sick raccoons when the disease initially broke out a couple months ago.
Authorities say pet owners still need to be on the lookout. Long Beach Animal Control Officer Kerry Hall said, “They actually can transmit the distemper to both your dogs and cats that are out there so we just want to make sure that people get the proper immunizations. Dogs and cats should be immunized once a year for certain things and distemper is one of them. Even if it’s on the decline, the raccoons that are infected can actually pass that in saliva, in urine, in fecal material. If dogs get into that after the fact, they can still contract the disease.”
The distemper is not transmittable to humans according to animal control officers. If you come in contact with a raccoon that appears to be infected please call the Long Beach Police Department.