A deadly disease is spreading throughout the raccoon population in Dallas, and wildlife experts warn your pets could be at risk.
Distemper is highly contagious.
"One of the symptoms of distemper is raccoons lose all of their natural fear of people, so they'll act very tame, they'll have facial spasms and in the final stages, they'll also have paralysis in their back legs," said Bonnie Bradshaw with 911 Wildlife.
Many homeowners are noticing the sick raccoons come out in the daytime.
Aja Shroll, who lives in Kessler Park, said she saw one just 5 feet away from her car.
"My youngest son, who's 2, started to go over and put out his hands, kind of like he does with the puppy, and I was like, 'No! No!' and I hurried and got him into the car," Shroll said.
Bradshaw said the disease can't spread to humans and most pets should already have a distemper vaccine.
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Still, pet owners need to be careful, she said.
"Well, the main thing is not to have any kind of food that would attract the raccoons to come over, and that's mainly cat food or dog food that's left outside overnight. So that's the No. 1 thing people can do to stop the spread of this disease is to pick up that pet food before dark," she said.
If you notice a raccoon with distemper, call 311 and a wildlife expert will handle the situation.
