AUSTIN (KXAN) — Recent rainfall has been helping to chip away at our drought, but one veterinarian is worried that the additional rain might bring out other animals that could put your pets at risk. KXAN Meteorologist Nick Bannin spoke with a veterinarian and the author of The Ultimate Pet Health Guide about his concern for your pets when the weather is wetter than normal.
KXAN Meteorologist Nick Bannin: Dr. Richter, we’ve finally been getting more rain here in Central Texas. What does that do to the animals that share habitat in our neighborhoods?
Dr. Gary Richter (Veterinarian, Author of The Ultimate Pet Health Guide): Well, I mean, we all have other animals that live in our neighborhoods, and depending on whether you live in an urban neighborhood or something a little bit more rural, it could be raccoons, skunks, bats, snakes, something bigger, perhaps coyotes, etc. And when it rains really hard, you can expect that these animals are going to be a little bit displaced in the sense that they’re going to be looking for shelter. They’re going to be looking for someplace to be as well. So, there actually is kind of an increased incidence of potential interactions between our pets and the wildlife in our neighborhoods.