By Carlos Santos
Editor
A Fluvanna County man has been charged with failure to vaccinate his Pitbull, which was captured near Scottsville last month and found to be rabid.
Richard Shane Kelley also faces eight other counts of failure to vaccinate a companion animal and four counts of not having a county dog license, according to Capt. David Wells of the Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office. All the charges are misdemeanors.
Several deputies and citizens sought treatment for possible rabies exposure after encountering the dog. The rabid Pitbull, which had been running loose and showing aggression to other animals and humans, was euthanized.
According to Wells, one dog was seized from Kelley’s home on Dec. 26 and was euthanized because “it had direct contact with the infected animal and safe quarantine was not possible.”
Deputies returned the next day and seized five cats and another dog when Kelley failed to produce a valid vaccination record. All the animals were euthanized as they also had direct contact with the rabid Pitbull and safe quarantine was again not possible, Wells said.
None of the seized animals were tested for rabies as they were not alleged to have bitten anyone. Rabies is usually transmitted through biting.
