The state’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Department is warning residents who had contact with the “captive raccoon” about possible rabies exposure, though the bartender who was working that night, Cindy Smith, assured The Bismarck Tribune that the animal was never let loose and didn’t bite anyone while on the premises. The woman who arrived with the animal reportedly lives locally, though it’s unclear if the animal was domesticated or picked up outside. The bar had about ten people inside for happy hour, and the woman came in and began showing the animal off to patrons, according to Smith. “I saw she was carrying something, and I asked her what it was, and she showed me, and I said, ‘You’ve got to get it out of here,’” Smith said. But the woman went to the other side of the bar and started showing it to another customer. “I had no idea what she was thinking,” she said. The bartender and another customer worked to get the woman and the raccoon out, and it was only on the property for about five minutes. “We finally got her out with it, and that’s all that happened,” the bartender said, reassuring that “it never left her arms one time, and there was absolutely no biting.” The animal is not confirmed, or necessarily even suspected, to be rabid, but HHS and the Benson County Sheriff’s Office have not provided information on the status of the animal or the woman at this time. As such, HHS is warning anyone that may have had contact with the raccoon’s saliva to speak with a health care provider about the risk of potential rabies exposure. “Because rabies is such a serious disease with a nearly 100% fatality rate, we are making this information available to the public as a precautionary measure,” Amanda Bakken, an epidemiologist in the state, said in a statement. According to the Tribune, there have been six rabid animals reported in the state this year: two bats, two cats, a bovine and a skunk. More News:
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