During Tuesday’s Yucca Valley Town Council meeting, the council heard a report from Doug Smith, the town’s animal care and control manager. One of the items in the report listed four rabies cases. Managing editor Tami Roleff reached out to find more information…
Animal Care and Control Manager Doug Smith allayed fears by saying none of the four cases of rabies exposure came back as having rabies. He said that if the public finds a dead or sick high-risk animal, such as bats, the animal is sent out to be tested for rabies. The animal is also tested for rabies if it has bitten a person and was euthanized before the two-week quarantine period ended. In 2019, Smith said residents found two bats; one dog which was hit by a car and then bit the bystander who tried to help it; and a sick and suffering cat. These animals were tested per protocol and all came back as negative for rabies.
