Photo: Courtesy of Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
AUBURN, Maine. (WBZNewsRadio) — One Maine woman learned the hard way that Petco doesn't trim raccoon nails.
On Tuesday afternoon, a woman walked into a Petco in Auburn, Maine, holding a juvenile raccoon and asked to get its nails trimmed.
While waiting, many people in the Petco held the young raccoon and some even kissed it, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife said. The store manager was later alerted of the raccoon and asked the woman to leave. The manager then contacted the Maine CDC and the Maine Warden Service as the woman could have potentially exposed herself and others to rabies.
"It is illegal to possess wildlife in Maine, and Petco does not trim raccoon nails," said the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.
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Raccoons are one of the most common rabies carriers in Maine.
Anyone who was exposed to the raccoon is asked to contact a healthcare provider. Rabies can be spread from an infected animal to a person through a bite, scratch, or cut in the skin. It can also be spread if the rabid animals' saliva or neural tissue gets into someone's eyes, nose, or mouth.
The MDIFW is asking anyone with information about the woman and the raccoon to contact the Maine Warden Service at 1-800-452-4664.
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