"So, I looked down and it was a squirrel," Orzechowska said. "It started running up my back, started scratching my back and biting my back." Orzechowska went to the emergency room where she spent five hours getting stitched up and treated with antibiotics. She said she is in pain, her hands are swollen an she is unable to work.
The squirrel belonged to Orzechowska's neighbour who has had it since it was just 3-weeks-old. The squirrel's name is B.B., he's one-year-old and only weighs about two pounds. The owner is now facing fines from Harris County Animal Control and a Game Warden with Texas Parks and Wildlife said it is against the law to keep a squirrel as a pet.
YouTube Link. Original news video.
The owner says she feels horrible about the bite and offered to pay any medical bills for her neighbour. She also said B.B. got away from her and isn't typically aggressive. She claims to have released the animal into the wild because she didn't want animal control officers to euthanize it. Orzechowska didn't have to be treated for rabies. According to the Centers for Disease Control squirrels very rarely carry the disease and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans in the US.
1 comment:
Actually, I do recall reading a case of squirrel rabies in New England, but the article is correct: squirrel rabies is very rare.
I will say that the needle-sharp claws that squirrels have are, well, needle-sharp. Once we had a squirrel that would come to feed on our kitchen window-sill, and we used to put peanuts out for him. One time he heard me open the window and jumped the gun, so to speak. I put my hand out to put the peanuts on the sill, and he jumped up (not seeing my hand) and put a claw into my finger, right down to the bone. That, let me tell you, stung just a wee bit. I immediately soaked the finger in epson salts for a half hour. Other'n that, I didn't have any problems.
I would NOT have a squirrel as a pet, or even an indoor visitor.
Lurker111
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