N.J. town officials ask residents to get pets vaccinated after raccoon with rabies attacks dog
Updated Apr 30, 2021;
Last Tuesday, Elizabeth Dellapietro had just put her dog Tilly in the backyard of her Highlands home to play and gone inside when she heard startling yelps.
She ran back outside to find a raccoon attached her pet’s paw, so she hit the raccoon with a watering can until it let go, then called animal control. Animal control arrived a short while later to capture the raccoon, which later tested positive for rabies, Dellapietro said.
“I was stressed. I was shaking,” Elizabeth Dellapietro told NJ Advance Media.
Raccoon attacks prompt officials to urge residents to get their pets rabies shots
CBS2’s Meg Baker spoke to the dog’s owner on Tuesday.
Twelve-year-old Tilly has a cast on his leg after a terrifying attack last week during the day on Waterwitch Avenue in Highlands.
“I heard screams of pain,” Elizabeth Dellapietro said.
Dellapietro said she ran outside to see her 10-pound dog with a raccoon attached to it. A neighbor behind her witnessed it, too.
“I peeked my head over. There is a raccoon with a full grip on the dog’s arm, wouldn’t let go for about 30 seconds. We were all screaming,” Kali Owens said.
HIGHLANDS - Elizabeth Dellapietro s dog was enjoying the backyard last week when an aggressive, rabid raccoon attacked.
The 63-year-old Highlands resident said the raccoon would not let go of her dog, Tilly, a 10-pound chihuahua mix. When I heard my dog scream in pain, I ran outside and I picked up a metal watering can and beat it (the raccoon) on its back to let go of my dog, she said.
The attack resulted in hundreds of dollars in veterinary bills and multiple trips to the hospital for rabies vaccines, Dellapietrio said.
Now she wants to warn the surrounding community of the danger.