‘They Thought It Had Rabies’ : Fox’s Runny Nose Proves Fatal; Police Shoot It

The frisky fox that had slept so soundly on her garage floor and tussled playfully with her dog and cat on Friday had brightened an otherwise mundane morning for Marjorie Harris.

After feeding it, she watched her new-found friend scurry on its way, silently hoping for a return visit.

But it wouldn’t come. Half an hour later, the fox was shot and killed by police who feared it was rabid.

Police said the fox was shot in the head and chest about 8:30 a.m. in the 2400 block of Presidio Drive, in Mission Hills, where police contained it after a resident called to tell them it looked sick.

“Animal control was on the way,” said Sgt. David J. Cavanaugh, of the department’s Western Division, “but the officers were afraid they would lose it. They thought it had rabies.”

Cavanaugh said officers reported that the fox was discharging a mucus-like substance from its nose and mouth.

An examination by the county veterinarian showed that the animal didn’t have the disease, but may have had a fatal form of a canine cold. No cases of rabies in any animal other than bats have been reported in San Diego County in 12 years.

Dr. Hubert Johnstone, the county veterinarian, said: “It looks to be canine distemper. . . . Distemper is usually what gives those symptoms that people mistake for rabies.”

Harris strongly criticized the police for the shooting.

“I certainly think it was wrong for them to shoot that fox,” said Harris. “I don’t know if it was that fox, but I have never seen another around here. It didn’t look sick to me.

“I don’t know why they would go around shooting animals like that.”

Other neighbors said they supported the police officers’ actions.

“They wouldn’t have shot it if they could have helped it,” said Mary Fadem, who had alerted police to the fox. “It just seemed to me that it was a danger.

“I thought maybe it had been hit by a car or something,” she said. “It was doing something funny with its head, moving it funny.”