CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In Refugio there's only two Animal Control Officers patrolling the entire county. Recently, it's been all hands-on deck to address rabies among animals that are roaming the area.
"We're working on controlling the population of the top 5 rabies animals in the state,” Animal Control officer, Andrew Snyder said.
That includes foxes, coyotes, bats, skunks, and raccoons, which are all animals found in the area and surrounding counties.
"Victoria county has a major outbreak of rabies right now and it's primarily the skunk strain. Last I heard three humans got bit by animals that did test positive,” Snyder said.
With that in mind, Snyder and his partner Ron have set up a line of defense at the county line.
"We've been trapping and catching every skunk and raccoon we can to try and control. We have sent several samples in for rabies testing,” Snyder said.
Seven samples have been sent out and they have come back negative. As of Friday, there are no reported cases of rabies in Refugio County. Animal Control does everything they can to keep it that way.
Snyder spends his day talking with locals with pets and signing them up for the Pet Retention Program, a new service to combat the number of strays in the area.
As KRIS 6 News drove through the county, Andy was getting calls nonstop. As he works to address recent rabies concerns, he's also trying to help manage the stray population -- and enforce city ordinances involving animals.
"It's 100% fatal. In all the history of the world there's only tw people who contracted it and survived,” Snyder said.
For now, Refugio Animal Control Officers will continue to be proactive. If someone comes across an animal acting strangely - stay away and call county dispatch at 361-526-1696.
