CLARKS SUMMIT -- Borough police want residents to be on the lookout for oddly behaving animals after officers shot a potentially rabid fox today.
The fox bit a woman walking on Bedford Street at about 10 a.m. and later acted aggressively toward a person trying to get out of a car on nearby Powell Avenue, said Police Chief Chris Yarns. Officers located the fox and shot it soon after. On Thursday, a resident also reported a fox acting aggressively on Depot Street, but police couldn’t find it, Yarns said.
The state game commission will test the fox for rabies, he said.
Although police killed the fox, the chief is concerned that it could have bitten another animal.Rabies symptoms
in animals include paralysis, seizures, difficulty breathing and swallowing, excessive salivation, abnormal behavior and aggression, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To report a potentially rabid animal, call borough police at 570-587-3026 or the Lackawanna County 911 center non-emergency line at 570-342-9111.
— FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY