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If a bite or scratch happens:

• If it was not your animal that bit you and they are a pet, get contact information of owner and veterinarian clinic.
• Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water as soon as possible
• Contact your doctor
• A tetanus booster may be needed
• Starting the rabies series should be considered if the animal was not up-to-date on the vaccine (contact vet to be sure)
• Report the incident to the Greendale Police Department and the Greendale Health Department

For more information go Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Rabies.

What You Need to Know if Your Cat or Dog Bites Someone:
Wisconsin state law (SS 95.21) requires that any dog or cat which bites a person be quarantined for ten days so that it can be observed for signs of rabies.
*Note that the information in this brochure applies only to dogs and cats that have bitten a person, and that the requirements of the quarantine vary depending on whether the animal is current on its rabies immunizations.(4/20/22)  
Click Here for information on rabies quarantine requirements.           Click Here for the Rabies Bites! brochure. 


Rabies is a viral infection which affects the nervous system, brain, and spinal cord.  It affects all warm-blooded animals.  It is passed on by the virus getting into an open cut or wound from an infected animal.  The best way to reduce the spread and risk of rabies is to make sure your pets are vaccinated against rabies.  Be sure to keep the rabies certificate number and vet contact information.  Getting your pet vaccinated against rabies may help to keep you, your pet, and others safe and healthy.  Not only is this important if your pet bites or scratches you or someone else, but also if your pet gets bit by another animal (pet or wild). Rabies can take up to 50 days before symptoms show, once symptoms show there is less help that can be provided. (4/20/22)  

**Bat bites can be very small and you may not feel it- if you find a bat in your home, talk to your healthcare provider or a public health professional and have the bat captured for possible rabies testing.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:  Rabies and Bats 

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Report Sick or Dead Wildlife

Help monitor the health of Wisconsin's wildlife by reporting your sightings of sick or dead wildlife to the DNR. To report a sick or dead wild bird, please use this survey form: Sick or Dead Bird Reporting Form. Or you can contact the Wildlife Switchboard to report a sick or dead wild mammal or wild bird by emailing DNRWildlifeSwitchboard@wisconsin.gov or calling 608-267-0866. You will need to leave a message for the switchboard staff. In your message, please include:

• the number of animals
• the species (such as a raccoon or Canada goose)
• if they were sick or dead
• the specific location where you saw them, including the county
• your contact information

Observations of five or more sick or dead wild birds or three or more sick or dead wild mammals in one area are of particular interest. In addition to groups of wildlife, the DNR has disease monitoring programs for the specific wildlife species listed below. You do not need to report wildlife killed on a roadway.

Wisconsin Humane Society
At the Milwaukee Campus, the Wisconsin Humane Society Wildlife Rehabilitation Center provides care for roughly 5,000 injured, sick, and orphaned wild animals of over 150 different species annually. Their  goal is to rescue, rehabilitate and return them to the wild. The Milwaukee campus provides service to Milwaukee County. In addition to helping animals from Milwaukee County at our urban wildlife hospital, the Wildlife Reception Desk  also gives humane advice to people who have concerns about injured, sick, orphaned or wild animals in human living environments. 
Important Note: Please call 414-431-6204 before coming to WHS with an animal. For 24/7 advice and information on wildlife situations you may be encountering, please CLICK HERE. Found a wild animal in distress in Milwaukee County? Please call us at 414-431-6204. 

Report observations of single sick or dead wild animals of the following:

• banded loons, eagles and osprey
• peregrine falcons
• trumpeter swans that have leg bands or neck collars
• greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse
• bats: you may also enter reports of sick or dead bats electronically using the Reporting Form [exit DNR] found on the Wisconsin Bat Monitoring Program's website [exit DNR]
• wolves
• mustelids (unless found dead on a road) including American marten, badger, fisher, otter
• snakes, especially those with skin lesions
• bear, especially bear cubs
• sick or dead elk or sick deer

To dispose of a wild animal carcass, use gloves or an inverted plastic bag and either bury the carcass on your property or double-bag it in a garbage bag and place it in your trash. Do not handle dead wildlife with bare hands.

Wildlife health | | Wisconsin DNR

03/24