Rabid Veggies?

The other day I received an e-mail about the injured coyote I wrote about in a blog last week and finding it dead the next day. I don’t know how it was injured, but I suspect it was hit by a car or shot, though I did not see any open wounds.

A couple of readers asked if it might have had rabies, but I don’t believe so, and neither does our local game and fish department. It was not aggressive at all and could barely stand up and walk away from me. But erring on the side of caution, I never touched it. I wore gloves and scooped it up with a shovel and deposited it in the hole we dug.

One e-mail I received was from someone who was concerned about us burying the animal. He wrote, “If it had rabies, by burying it on your property you have now contaminated the land and anything you grow on it. Are you still planning a garden after that? I would not consider eating anything grown on that land for many years.”

The rabies virus is transmitted through direct contact with saliva or brain/nervous system tissue from an infected animal. It cannot survive without the host animal. One report I read said that it was possible for the rabies virus to survive in moist soil for up to three hours, but I could not find anything else to support that claim. Since the coyote had been dead for quite a while before we found it, even if it had rabies, which I doubt, I don’t believe the virus could have survived that long.

We buried it quite a ways from our house and where the garden will be located, so I am sure that whatever produce Miss Terry and Travis grow will be safe. But rest assured, I will not be eating any of it. Not because I am afraid of rabies but because I don’t eat most vegetables. I’m a grownup, and nobody can make me. 😊

In other news, I think Terry has just about everything she needs ready to send to our accountant for tax time. I’m not looking forward to how much Uncle Sam will want from us this year, but you know what they say about death and taxes. Now Terry can start working on the first chapters of my new book.

Meanwhile, I am plugging away at more chapters and having fun hanging out with the nice folks on Tinder Street. Time to get back to them.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.