A hero dog who saved his 11-year-old human from a rabid raccoon is being quarantined for six months.
When Savannah Vanase, 11, was recently cleaning the chicken coop in her family's backyard, she spotted a rabid raccoon just inches away from her. Before she could even react, her pit bull Tank came to her rescue.
"He sprints over from the deck and I look under and there's this huge raccoon under there and they start to fight and fight," Savannah Vanase told WFSB, a local news channel.
Vanase said she watched Tank throw the raccoon - who was tested in a local Rocky Hill lab as rabid - up against the fence and suffocate the animal.
Because Tank fought the rabid animal he will be quarantined for six months at the Norwich Animal Shelter. His quarantine will cost his humans $5 per month (a total of $30), but they told WFSB they didn't mind.
"Had he been currently rabies vaccinated he would have been able to have a 45-day home quarantine but unfortunately he does need to be here for six months," Animal Control Officer Donna Gremminger told WFSB.
As for the rest of the family, they have to go through a series of treatments for rabies just to be safe.
Once the six family members arrive home, the countdown will start until July when they are reunited with Tank.
"What I plan on doing for his birthday when he comes home make him a big nice peanut butter bone treat cake for him, and hug him as hard as I can," Vanase told WFSB.
