If you're with your dog and see a javelina, walk the other way.
A confrontation with javelina can lead to, in some cases, months-long quarantines for your pet.
The Pima Animal Care Center reported two instances of dogs that got into fights with javelina. In both cases, the owners were with the dogs, which were both off-leash. One confrontation took place on the east side and the other on the west side.
Neither of the attacking javelinas was found. These were the Pima Animal Care Center's first reports of a javelina tangling with a pet since January 2010.
State law requires vaccinated pets that come in contact with wild animals to be quarantined for 45 days at home. Unvaccinated pets are required to be quarantined at a vet clinic for six months at the owner's expense. If the wild animal is caught and found not to have rabies, the quarantine is not required.
People are also reading…
"The law is very harsh, but we always try to work with people and make the fees affordable," said Jayne Cundy, public service supervisor with Pima Animal Care Center. "People may try to hide their animals, but it isn't in their best interests."
Cundy said it's a worthwhile investment to get pets vaccinated for rabies. She said pets typically need booster vaccines every three years after their first inoculation. She said vets typically charge between $10 and $15 for vaccines.
Cundy said that last year her office found rabies in nine skunks, seven bats and one javelina.
Ricky Scruggs, who runs the Centerfield Baseball Academy and lives on the west side with his wife and three children, learned about the law earlier this month. After a run-in with a javelina, their dog, Patch is living in what Scruggs calls "solitary confinement" at the Pima Animal Care Center. The family, which must pay $800 for the arrangement, visits Patch nightly.
"It's just terrible. Ten years ago if you told me I'd pay for dog care, I would have laughed in your face," Scruggs said. "But I can't stand it. It's hard to sleep at night just knowing he's not here."
When a pack of 10 javelina messed with the family's' trash cans, 16-year-old Tyler went out to move the cans. That's when Patch, the family's 7-year-old Siberian Husky/Lab mix, sprinted out the door to confront the beasts.
One of the animals rammed Patch from behind, causing a surface wound that did not draw blood.
When the family took Patch to the vet and described the incident, the vet reported the incident to Pima Animal Care, which told the Scruggses about the quarantine requirement. Ricky Scruggs said vet care centers quoted him between $4,000 and $6,000 to quarantine Patch, but luckily Pima Animal Care offered its much lower rate.
"If we would have had to pay that much," Scruggs said of the higher estimates, "we would have had to kill the dog.
Scruggs said Patch was vaccinated for rabies when they bought him as a puppy from a pet shop, but because he didn't know that dogs needed boosters every three years, Patch hasn't received a shot in the past six years.
"Above anything," he said, "I'd like people to know that they need to do those rabies shots."
DID YOU KNOW
According to the Pima Animal Care Center, javelina and coyotes often frequent neighborhoods but are known to stay away from people. If confronted, they can become aggressive, especially if their offspring are with them.
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at 573-4130 or pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
Faculty concerned about changes to U of A admissions policy
