According to Boothbay Animal Control Officer George Goodwin, the quarantine ``is not to protect the dog or cat; it's to protect the humans.''

Chris Buchanan, who lives on the Dover Road extension near the Oven's Mouth Preserve land trust property, called Goodwin at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, November 18 to tell him that he had just found a raccoon carcass near his back door. Goodwin was about to advise him simply to bury the raccoon when Buchanan mentioned that there are two dogs and a cat in the house. Goodwin instead retrieved the raccoon's body, which was still limp, and took it to Augusta for testing. He advised the Buchanans to quarantine their pets pending the test results.

Because the raccoon's muzzle was full of porcupine quills, showing that the animal had behaved irrationally in attacking a porcupine, Goodwin strongly suspected that it was rabid. That afternoon both Goodwin and the state lab called the Buchanans to tell them that the results were positive.

While at the Buchanans' house, Goodwin found evidence that the raccoon had been on the deck of the house. It had apparently turned over the dogs' outside water dish. Goodwin feels the quarantine is necessary because it's possible that the raccoon had drunk from the dish, in spite of rabid animals' typical fear of water (hydrophobia), and because the dogs might have come in contact with it when they were outside just a few minutes before Chris found the raccoon's body.

``There's plenty of evidence that the dogs could have been contaminated,'' says Goodwin. The raccoon could also have infected the porcupine, says Goodwin, although the raccoon may not have been able to get through the animal's quill defenses.

As soon as they knew the test results, the Buchanans took all three pets to the Boothbay Animal Hospital for rabies booster shots, even though they had taken advantage of the rabies clinic within the past year. Their young cat had not yet been outside the morning the raccoon was found, but is nonetheless in quarantine.

Although, as he says, ``The chances that the dogs contracted it are almost nil,'' both the adults and children (6- and 9-year-old daughters) have to be cautious around their pets during the quarantine period. They are trying to keep the cat in and taking the dogs, 11- and 12-year-old golden retriever mixes, out on a leash.

``Other than the inconvenience, it's not that big a deal because our dogs don't run,'' says Chris. ``We just have to be careful to keep out of their faces.''

Be On Guard

``The awareness has to be maintained,'' says Goodwin. People must be cautious when their pets are outside, even in cold weather, because, although rabies proliferates in summer when the animals are more active and come into contact with one another more often, it does not die out with the advent of cold weather.

``People are starting to get to the point where they're doing things right,'' says Goodwin. He has had plenty of phone calls about raccoons since several reports of recent rabid raccoons have surfaced in the past few weeks.

He says, ``The frightening thing for me is when I get a report of one seen walking on the road.'' If it's gone before he arrives, he wonders where it's going to show up next. He has found sick or dead raccoons under porches and houses, and most frightening of all, in a children's playhouse.

``They'll just crawl in anywhere,'' he says.

Goodwin recommends that anyone who spots an animal exhibiting unusual behavior or who has pets that come in contact with a potentially rabid animal, should call him via the Boothbay dispatcher at 633-4221. The dispatcher will page him, so he can be on the scene as soon as possible.

The Lincoln County Animal Shelter, in conjunction with the Boothbay Animal Hospital and Coastal Veterinary Care, will offer a rabies clinic for dogs and cats three months of age or older, at the shelter, on December 5 from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, contact LCAS at 882-9677.