Pygmy Goat
Is Rabies-Free
By Sandy Vondrasek Cooch

Six months after being attacked by a rabid bobcat in a Stockbridge barn, little Nemo is a free goat again.

The young pygmy goat, owned by Karen and Adam Rogers, was not vaccinated at the time of the attack. As a result, Nemo had to be quarantined for six months, to ensure that the disease could not be spread, if he were, in fact, infected.

Nemo got his bill a clean health last week, Karen Rogers reported this week.

However, Nemo’s mom, a 50-pound pygmy goat doe, who was badly injured as she to protect her kid from the bobcat during the February attack, subsequently died.

Immediately following the attack, the Rogers’ surviving goats all received a series of rabies shots, administered by large animal veterinarian Dr. Will Barry. Little Nemo, a six-month-old kid, was quarantined in a separate barn, as well.

Last week, Dr. Barry returned to the Rogers Family Farm to give Nemo his certificate of health, Karen Rogers said.

Rabies is a fatal viral disease that is mainly transmitted by the bites of infected animals. It typically has a long incubation period, with a brief period of symptoms and infectiousness occurring only at the end of the course of the disease.

Nemo was badly battered in the bobcat attack, suffering multiple puncture wounds along his back and several severe scratches. He also lost an ear, Rogers said.

But, besides that missing ear and a little limp, the goat is now "pretty much fully recovered," she said. The Rogers now own eight pygmy goats, and plan to breed their six does in December, looking ahead to a batch of kids in the spring.

Nemo, whose first birthday is tomorrow, Aug. 17, holds a special place in this line-up. The family "mascot," he accompanies the family on walks at ATV rides, Rogers said.

Those interested in pygmy goats in general, and in little Nemo in particular, can find out more at the Tunbridge Fair this September. Rogers said that her daughter plans to show one of their goats at the fair, and that one-eared Nemo will get a trip to the fair, as well.

Sidebar

Rabies: 111 Cases Reported

This has been a big year for rabies cases, with 111 confirmed cases in Vermont so far this year, according to state public health veterinarian Dr. Bob Johnson.

The 104th case was the rabid skunk shot by Julie Kinney of Braintree a few weeks ago. The skunk, which bit one of Kinney’s horses, was confirmed as rabid after The Herald reported the incident.

Rabies cases in the state have ranged from a low of 24 in 1992, when only the fox strain of rabies was here, to a high of 179, a few years later when raccoon rabies swept into the state from the south.

Most of the 111 cases reported this year have been in Franklin County, and most of the animals were raccoons. In recent weeks, officials from Canada, New York, Vermont, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have been taking steps to keep rabies from pushing north and west.

In addition to the annual bait drop along the northern Vermont border—with vaccine-treated bait dropped from planes—officials are also trapping and vaccinating raccoons.

Bat Alert

State public health veterinarian Dr. Bob Johnson this week reported that his department is getting "inundated" with reports of bats in houses in recent weeks.

Bats can carry rabies—one of the 111 animals testing positive for rabies this year was a big brown bat—and people should use care if one gets inside a residence.

Dr. Johnson said that a bat found in a room with a sleeping individual or an unattended child should be tested for rabies, as should any bat that has made physical contact with an individual.

For more information, contact the Vermont Rabies Hotline, 1-800-4-RABIES.