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Rabid animals are a serious threat because they lack the part of the brain functioning that tells animals to relent, so they will literally attack until you are dead or until they are dead or subdued… This poor man.

By Kim Hackett

Call it an utter otter horror.

A 96-year-old man was ambushed and mauled by a rabid otter early Friday morning as he walked past brush near a lake in the Venice East neighborhood.

Morrell Denton was midway through his two-mile daily walk when the otter confronted him on the sidewalk. Denton said he thought it was someone’s pet.

But the otter “grabbed me by the foot and pulled on my leg and I went down,” said Denton in his living room, shortly after returning from the Venice Regional Medical Center’s emergency room about seven hours after the attack.

Covered in white bandages on both hands, and with nine stitches on his badly bruised forehead, Denton said he pulled the otter off with one hand before the animal started biting him on the other. The animal bit him to the bone on several fingers.

“I kept trying to get him off me,” Denton said. “It’s like nothing I’ve heard of.”

Two men saw the attack and raced to Denton’s aid, one striking at the otter with a shovel as the other called 911.

Christopher Janssen, 36, was bitten by the otter but the other rescuer, 53-year-old Raymond Duval was not injured.

An ambulance arrived minutes later, taking Denton and Duval to the hospital.

Both men were treated and released. Sarasota County’s health department issued a rabies alert Friday afternoon after the animal tested positive for the disease. Another otter tested positive for rabies in mid-February after attacking two horses in Sarasota County.

A biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said otters are not typically aggressive.

“They are skittish for the most part,” said biologist Jeff Gore.

Sheriff’s deputies shot the animal dead.

EARLIER REPORT

An otter attacked and wounded a 96-year-old man out for a stroll in Venice early today, and then turned on two men who came to his rescue, injuring another.

Morrell Denton, 96, and Christopher Janssen, 36, suffered unspecified injuries during the attack on Venice East Boulevard, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. The men were treated at nearby Venice Medical Center and released.

The otter was killed.

According to reports, Denton was walking along the 300 block of the roadway near an area of thick brush, sometime around 4:30 a.m. Friday, when the otter charged out and attacked him. The attack sent Denton sprawling to the ground.

Janssen and another man, Raymond Duval, 53, saw the attack and raced to Denton’s aid, striking at the otter with gardening tools as one of the pair called 911. Jensen was wounded during the scrap; Duval avoided injury.

The otter was killed.

Almost.

After a time, the animal roused again and began to head back into the brush. But after one attack on a human, there was concern the animal may be a danger to the public.

The otter was killed.

Definitely.

It was not immediately clear whether the rescuers or responding deputies put down the otter. Sarasota County animal service crews responded and took the otter to examine it.

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Not sure why they had to euthanize the bear… couldn’t they return it to a wild area? Or if that wouldn’t work out, a zoo?

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife Bear Response team tranquilized a black bear that was tracked to the back porch of a home on Fox Hill Drive.

In recent days, he’d become almost a familiar sight, trudging the street, checking trash cans for easy snacks.

“He’s been around here for a long time,’’ said resident John Rondi. “He hasn’t been aggressive. He’s been curious. He’s been taking garbage.’’

Until Wednesday, the bear hadn’t caused any harm in the suburban neighborhood he’d made his home.

But that changed fatally after nightfall, when he wandered into a fenced yard a few blocks away on Lyle Avenue after 11 p.m. and killed the 16–year border collie-Corgi mix — coincidentally named “Bear.” The attack prompted a police hunt through neighborhoods off Preakness Avenue the next day, put residents on alert and kept the township’s elementary school children inside for recess.

The search ended after police officers Robert Franco and Jack Belanger traced bear tracks through the snow from Lyle Avenue to 4 Fox Hill Drive, where residents had reported seeing the animal the night before. They found the bear asleep under the deck, Capt. Paul Ireland said.

Authorities notified members of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife Bear Response team who were in town looking for the bear. The wildlife staff tranquilized the bear as police stood guard with shotguns. Wildlife staff member Chuck Sliker said the bear was awake when he approached, but was not alarmed by people. Sliker shot the tranquilizer dart at the bear, which then fell asleep.

Six officers helped state staff carry the bear from the yard around 2 p.m. and load it into a pickup to be taken to a state facility. It was euthanized soon after.

Nirmeen Ibrahim, who lives at the home where the bear had been sleeping, said she had seen it walking through the neighborhood recently but had no idea it was living under her backyard deck.

“I feel bad for the bear, but it could have been dangerous,” said Ibrahim, who was home with her infant daughter. “I’m glad it’s taken care of. I’m worried about the kids here. … It’s kind of scary.”

The incident occurred as the state’s Fish and Game Council is to unveil the new Black Bear Management Policy. The Council will meet Tuesday and is expected to introduce the policy, a first step before the state can consider holding another bear hunt after a moratorium of several years.

The policy will contained an updated population estimate based on a DNA study by East Stroudsberg State University. It also will explain the state’s strategies for dealing with bears, including public education, garbage can maintenance, and hunting.

The dog’s owner, Marian Szal, said she was relieved to learn that the bear had been caught and would cause no further harm.

Szal said she had let the dog out one last time before bedtime. When Bear did not bark to come back in, Szal looked out a glass door and saw what seemed like the back of the bruin on all fours.

She rushed upstairs, and she and her husband shone flashlights through the door. When officers arrived, the couple went outside and called for the dog, in vain. Police followed bear tracks and found the dog dead on a hill near Szal’s property.

“You hear about bear sightings, but not in your own yard,” Szal said. “It’s a tremendous loss. He [Bear] had a beautiful disposition, and he was great with everyone.”

Szal said her family is devastated by the loss of the gentle dog they adopted as a puppy from the Wayne animal shelter 16 years ago. He was named Bear because the fuzzy, black puppy looked just like a cub.

“He made our day every day,” Szal said. “He was a gentle, gentle soul, very smart, very well mannered, very affectionate.”

State officials said the black bear was killed because, in killing the dog, it was involved in a so-called Category 1 incident, exhibiting aggressive behavior.

The dog apparently died of a broken neck, which suggests the bear either took a swipe at it, or clenched it with his jaws, said Larry Herrighty, assistant director for the Division of Fish and Wildlife. He called the incident “an unprovoked attack.”

But bird feeders in the yard might have attracted the bear, he said.

And the recent mild weather might have stirred this bear to activity. Because of the state’s mild winters, bears in New Jersey don’t hibernate. They enter a winter dormancy called torpor and can rouse to forage for food.

“In another month, bears will be up and become very active,” Herrighty said.

Residents of Wayne, which have had numerous bear sightings in the past, should take heed and maintain trash correctly, he said.

Precautions

The Fish and Wildlife Divi¬sion of the New Jersey Depart¬ment of Environmental Protec¬tion offers the following tips to avoid attracting bears:

• Use certified bear-resist¬ant garbage containers, and store them outdoors. Those not using certified containers should place their refuse in containers with tight-fitting lids and store them in a secure lo¬cation – a basement, for ex¬ample – until the morning or evening of garbage collection.
• Wash trash containers with a disinfectant at least once a week to eliminate odors. Carefully rinse recy¬clables to rid them of food residue that can attract bears.
• Pet owners should avoid feeding their animals outside.
• The use of birdfeeders is discouraged in areas frequent¬ed by black bears. Those who insist on feeding birds should do so only in daylight hours between Dec. 1 and April 1, when bears are least active. Store feeders indoors at night, and clean up any spilled seeds daily.
• Thoroughly clean outdoor grills after use. Never dump grill grease on the ground. Store grills in a shed or garage after use.

Source: The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

– William Lamb

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Who in the world keeps a 1 ton bull as a pet?

[+] Enlarge. Reading Eagle: Tim Leedy The 1-ton bull that officials believe killed his owner at the South Heidelberg Township farm Sunday where the attack occurred.

A Reinholds man found dead Sunday at a South Heidelberg Township farm was killed by a 1-ton bull he kept as a pet, officials in the Berks County coroner’s office said.

Ricky D. Weinhold, 52, died of multiple injuries Saturday – a day before his 53rd birthday – at the farm at 370 Mill Road near the Lancaster County line, officials said.

The coroner’s office ruled the death an accident.

All of Weinhold’s injuries apparently were inflicted by the hooves and head of a bull, Chief Deputy Coroner Charles E. Sweitzer Jr. said.

Sweitzer said it was the first bull-related death he could recall in his 28 years working in the coroner’s office.

Dale A. Zimmerman, whose father, David, owns the property, said he discovered Weinhold’s body in an outdoor pen late Sunday morning after he returned from a trip.

Sweitzer said tests indicated Weinhold died late Saturday afternoon.

Weinhold kept about 10 head of cattle at the 55-acre farm under a lease with David Zimmerman.

The Zimmermans and coroner’s officials believe the biggest of the animals killed Weinhold. The same bull cracked Weinhold’s ribs last year, prompting friends to urge Weinhold to get rid of the animal, Deputy Coroner Terri L. Straka said.

“He loved his pet,” she said.

Straka pronounced Weinhold dead Sunday at 2:04 p.m. No autopsy is planned.

Officials believe the attack began inside the barn’s stables, where a newborn calf was kept. They don’t know what Weinhold was doing when he was attacked.

The cattle were moved out of the stables and corralled behind the barn Sunday while officials investigated.

Dale Zimmerman said he and his father were waiting to hear what Weinhold’s family wanted them to do with the animals. Weinhold’s family could not be reached.

Township police continued to investigate.

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The term “Killer Whale” isn’t a cute nickname. This is terrifying. I don’t understand how this particular whale has continued to participate in shows – this is the third human it has killed. And, don’t I remember children sometimes standing poolside as these whales swim below? How is that ever safe? I understand that the whale may have had no predatory intent – but rather playfulness – but that doesn’t make it any less dangerous, or the trainer any less dead.

Whale kills trainer as horrified spectators watch
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 24, 2010; 9:46 PM

ORLANDO, Fla. — A SeaWorld killer whale snatched a trainer off a poolside platform in its jaws Wednesday and thrashed the woman around underwater, killing her in front of a horrified audience. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death.

Distraught audience members were hustled out of the stadium immediately, and the park was closed.

Trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, was one of the park’s most experienced. Her sister said Brancheau wouldn’t want anything done to the whale that killed her because she loved the animals like children.

Brancheau was rubbing Tilikum after a noontime show when the 12,000-pound whale grabbed her and pulled her in, said Chuck Tompkins, head of animal training at all SeaWorld parks. It was not clear if she drowned or died from the thrashing.

Because of his size and the previous deaths, trainers were not supposed to get into the water with Tilikum, and only about a dozen of the park’s 29 trainers worked with him. Brancheau had more experience with the 30-year-old whale than most.

“We recognized he was different,” Tompkins said. He said no decision has been made yet about what will happen to Tilikum, such as transfering him to another facility.

A retired couple from Michigan told The Associated Press that they were some stragglers in the audience who had stayed to watch the animals and trainers.

Eldon Skaggs, 72, saw Brancheau on platform massaging the whale. He said the interaction appeared leisurely and informal. Skaggs that the whale “pulled her under and started swimming around with her.”

Skaggs said an alarm sounded and staff rushed the audience out of the stadium as workers scrambled around with nets.

Skaggs said he heard that during an earlier show the whale was not responding to directions. Others who attended the earlier show said the whale was behaving like an ornery child.

The couple left and didn’t find out until later that the trainer had died.

“We were just a little bit stunned,” said Skaggs’ wife, Sue Nichols, 67.

Another audience member, Victoria Biniak, told WKMG-TV the whale “took off really fast in the tank, and then he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing around, and one of her shoes flew off.”

Two other witnesses told the Orlando Sentinel that the whale grabbed the woman by the upper arm and tossed her around in its mouth while swimming rapidly around the tank. Brazilian tourist Joao Lucio DeCosta Sobrinho and his girlfriend were at an underwater viewing area when they suddenly saw a whale with a person in its mouth.

The couple said they watched the whale show at the park two days earlier and came back to take pictures. But on Wednesday the whales appeared agitated.

“It was terrible. It’s very difficult to see the image,” Sobrinho said.

A SeaWorld spokesman said Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia.

Steve Huxter, who was head of Sealand’s animal care and training department then, said Wednesday he’s surprised it happened again. He says Tilikum was a well-behaved, balanced animal.

Tilikum was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, though he was also bruised and scratched by Tilikum.

At the stadium, what appeared to be a body covered with a black shroud could be seen lying on the concrete near the water as the animals swam just a few feet away.

Later Wednesday, SeaWorld in San Diego also suspended its killer whale show. It was not clear if the killer whale show has been suspended at SeaWorld’s San Antonio location, which is closed until the weekend.

According to a profile of Brancheau in the Sentinel in 2006, she was one of SeaWorld Orlando’s leading trainers. It was apparently a trip to SeaWorld at age 9 that made her want to follow that career path.

“I remember walking down the aisle (of Shamu Stadium) and telling my mom, ‘This is what I want to do,’” she said in the article.

Brancheau worked her way into a leadership role at Shamu Stadium during her career with SeaWorld, starting at the Sea Lion & Otter Stadium before spending 10 years working with killer whales, the newspaper said.

She also addressed the dangers of the job.

“You can’t put yourself in the water unless you trust them and they trust you,” Brancheau said.

Steve McCulloch, founder and program manager at the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program at Harbor Branch/Florida Atlantic University, said the whale may have been playing, but it is too early to tell.

“I wouldn’t jump to conclusions,” he said. “These are very large powerful marine mammals. They exhibit this type of behavior in the wild.

“Nobody cares more about the animal than the trainer. It’s just hard to fathom that this has happened.”

Brancheau’s older sister Diane Gross, of Indiana, said the trainer “would not want anything done to that whale.” Gross said her sister loved working at the park and thought of the animals like she would her own children.

Gross tells the Associated Press that news of her sister’s death “hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Mike Wald, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration office in Atlanta, said his agency had dispatched an investigator from Tampa.

Wednesday’s death was not the first attack on whale trainers at SeaWorld parks.

In November 2006, a trainer was bitten and held underwater several times by a killer whale during a show at SeaWorld’s San Diego park.

The trainer, Kenneth Peters, escaped with a broken foot. The 17-foot orca that attacked him was the dominant female of SeaWorld San Diego’s seven killer whales. She had attacked Peters two other times, in 1993 and 1999.

In 2004, another whale at the company’s San Antonio park tried to hit one of the trainers and attempted to bite him. He also escaped.

Wednesday’s attack was the second time in two months that an orca trainer was killed at a marine park. On Dec. 24, 29-year-old Alexis Martinez Hernandez fell from a whale and crushed his ribcage at Loro Parque on the Spanish island of Tenerife. Park officials said the whale, a 14-year-old named Keto, made an unusual move as the two practiced a trick in which the whale lifts the trainer and leaps into the air.

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Columbia County, N.Y.–Columbia County Health Officials put out a warning after a fox attacked and bit a boy in Stockport on January the 23rd.

According to Columbia County Public Health Sanitarian Ed Coons, two eight-year-olds were playing in the woods when they came across a fox den. When the boys saw a fox they turned around and ran. The boy in the rear fell and the fox bit him in the leg deep enough to warrant post exposure rabies treatment; a series of 4 shots given over a 14 day period intra-muscularly in the upper arm. The shots used to be administered every day for a 21 day period into the abdominal muscles. The fox was not caught so officials could not be sure if it was rabid.

“Though you should not live your life in fear, be aware of your surroundings,” warns Coons. “Most of the wild terrestrial animals are nocturnal; feed at night, and the attack occurred at 9:00 a.m., so seeing them out in the day is cause for alarm at this time of the year.”

On January 25th, a dog was attacked by a raccoon in a residential neighborhood in Elizaville. The dog owner responded by trying to pull the raccoon off of the dog and was scratched during the scuffle. Another neighbor grabbed a rake and hit the raccoon killing it. The raccoon tested positive for rabies.  Without knowing if the man was scratched by the raccoon or the dog, the man needed to receive post rabies treatment, according to Coons. The dog was not up to date on it’s shots so it needed treatment and to be quarantined for 6 months.

“Having two incidents within a three day period is very rare,” says Coons, “this is breeding season.”

Coons describes another incident involving a rabid skunk: “There was an incident that occurred a few years back where a dog in kennel was attacked by a rabid skunk that actually climbed the 6 foot tall chain link fence to go after the dog.” News10 asked, “Was the skunk going after the dog?” “Yes…the animal was shedding the virus and seeking to bite to keep the virus going…once they become clinical they no longer eat or drink and just look to bite,” says Coons.

The 2010 Rabies Clinics are beginning in March and they are free to Columbia County residents, according to Coons, who offers this advice, “Keep you pet’s vaccinations current, especially since there free.”

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A woman from Long Island was trampled by a wild elephant in Kenya as she held her 1-year-old daughter in her arms. The child was also killed in the incident, which happened on Monday afternoon during a nature walk near the Castle Forest Lodge, where they were vacationing. Sharon Brown, 39, originally from Miller Place, Long Island, and her daughter, Margaux, were killed; Brown’s husband and three other tourists survived. The Browns were in an area where hikers are advised to travel with an armed guard to defend them against stampeding elephants, but they were with an unarmed hotel guide.

“The elephant emerged from the bush at full speed without any warning,” lodge owner Melia van Laarvan Laar told the AP. “Everybody ran away, but the lady, burdened by the weight of the baby, perhaps, or in panic, was not able to run fast enough.” Brown, a former Peace Corps volunteer, worked as the librarian at the International School of Kenya in Nairobi, where her husband is a teacher. “She was an excellent student and beautiful person,” said her father John Laurie. “She was loved by everybody and loved to travel extensively.”

Witnesses say the elephant came upon the hikers from behind, and a spokeswoman for the Kenya Wildlife Service, Kentice Tikolo, told the AP, “It was a lone elephant and lone elephants can be quite dangerous. It probably felt quite threatened.” Tikolo also says that deaths by charging elephants are rare in Kenya, and happen about once a year. However, the Daily News reports that more than 15 people (typically Kenyans, not foreign tourists) are killed by wild animals each year, three-quarters of them by elephants. In fact, humans are killed by wildlife so routinely that the Kenyan Wildlife Service has a set rate for compensation: $389 per death.

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The Oklahoma State Health Department is preparing to test a beaver for rabies after it bit a small boy near Durant.

The incident happened on Saturday outside an apartment complex in Durant.

Tammy Lane said her 5-year-old son went outside to get the family cat. Instead of finding a feline, however, he was attacked by a beaver.

“I heard screaming. I went to see what was happening. His leg was pretty bad,” she said.

Lane said when her son tried to pet the beaver, it bit him. She rushed him to a local hospital and called police.

“They didn’t believe it was a beaver. They thought it was a raccoon,” Lane said.

However, Lane’s boyfriend took a photo of the beaver after he beat it with a crowbar.

A Durant Police Department spokeswoman said this was the department’s first report of a beaver attack.

“We get our share of dog bites, cat bites. This is our first one for beavers,” said Lt. Carrie Wyrick.

Lane said the 60-pound beaver was bigger than her 42-pound son and could have easily carried him away. The animal bit a chunk out of the boy’s calf.

“My biggest worry is that he has rabies, and I don’t know. Nobody knows,” Lane said.

Health department officials said rabies in beavers is rare. Workers will test the beaver on Wednesday.

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PALM SPRINGS — Now swimming in a pond near you: ferocious, razor-toothed predators direct from the Amazon River basin.

A boy fishing last month in a pond near his condo complex, at Arabian Road and Lake Arbor Drive, pulled from the water not the bass or catfish he was used to — but a writhing, red-bellied piranha.

Ten days later, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials combed the same pond and discovered a second piranha lurking beneath the surface.

In response, wildlife officers on Tuesday morning plied the roughly 4-acre pond with rotenone fish poison, an “extreme measure” meant to kill off any piranha still hiding there, said wildlife commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro.

As of Tuesday evening, a third piranha, killed by the poison, had floated to the surface. Wildlife officials scooped the adult-sized fish up for measurement, Ferraro said. The fish poison is designed to kill fish, then break down into nontoxic substances in three or four days.

Investigators said the toothy predators probably were kept as pets, a crime punishable by a $1,000 fine in Florida, before their owners turned them loose in the pond. Officials still were sorting through dead fish Tuesday night, in search of still more piranha.

It was no small task, because, as a side effect, the poison also killed every other fish living in the pond.

That ruined Darrin Duchene’s day. The Palm Springs man said his 14-year-old son, Jake, who angled the piranha on Oct. 13, grew up fishing the pond.

“He’s come back with every strange fish there is,” said Duchene, remembering times Jake turned up with peacock bass and a jaguar guapote, a fish native to Central America.

He recalled the day a month ago Jake caught the piranha.

“I was sitting in my chair and he came running in. He said he saw a bunch of minnows getting torn up.

“He cast his line in there and, boom, kind of snagged it in the top of the head,” Duchene said. “He ran over and said, ‘Dad! Dad! I caught a piranha!’”

“I said, ‘No way.’ “

But, peering down at the fish, Duchene had to admit it looked exactly like the ones he had seen on the Discovery Channel.

“We had him in a Zip-loc bag, and he was flipping around for probably 20 minutes. He was a big, tough one,” Duchene said.

They called the wildlife commission, and an officer came and “seized the piranha for further investigation,” the officer’s report said.

The Duchenes gave up the fish reluctantly.

“I wanted to keep it so I could get it mounted for him because nobody has a piranha,” Duchene said. “He said they might give it back to us.”

As wildlife officers poisoned his pond Tuesday, Duchene said he regretted ever calling them.

“All the years of enjoyment, for them to come wipe out that place, that’s freakin’ tragedy,” he said. “That is terrible. That’ll break my son’s heart.”

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SEATTLE – A Seattle woman says she’s too traumatized to stay in her own home after a raccoon attack sent her and her dog to the ER.

Kelly Gilliam says she was taking her dog Winky out for a walk in Queen Anne at about 10 p.m. Monday when it happened.

“We got right about around here. All of a sudden, the raccoon, jumped out of this bush here,” she said. “It had kind of cornered me, and it jumped on me one more time really hard and I fell back and I just tumbled.”

Gilliam said she, the raccoon and the dog tumbled down the hill.

“It would not get off of me, I could not get away from it. I could not get away from it,” she said.

Gilliam was hospitalized for four days with 12 gashes on her body.

She had to get more than a dozen rabies shots because doctors assumed the raccoon was infected.

Winky, now sporting a cone, got five staples near his tail.

And Gilliam’s attacker got away.

“The police officer had the raccoon trapped in this tree right here, and was shining a light on it. I was bleeding and pretty much in hysterics and I was like, ‘can you just shoot it?’ and he said ‘there’s nothing I can do,’” she said.

State law says you cannot hunt or trap a raccoon without a permit unless it’s attacking crops or domestic animals.

And even then, each city has its own wildlife restrictions.

Gilliam says she’s just worried for the rest of her neighborhood.

“With all of the people, the kids, the elderly people, I’m just concerned someone was going to get way more hurt than I did,” she said.

Wildlife experts say about your only option in an urban setting is to get a pest professional to catch the raccoon for you.

Washington Fish and Wildlife also warns residents to keep pet food inside, as raccoons are opportunistic scavengers.

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ALEXANDRIA, MINN. - Jason Raasch was driving home from a trip to Missouri when he looked down and saw a rattlesnake in his car.

“I was pretty scared, because I’d never even seen a rattlesnake except for at the zoo, so for it to be in the car and to bite me to top it off was pretty scary,” Raasch said.

It happened at the intersection of I-94 and Highway 27 in Alexandria. Raasch said he didn’t know the snake was there until it bit him. Raasch’s friend rushed him to Douglas County Hospital where an ambulance took him to HCMC.  A few days later, Raasch developed pancreatitis, which was the start of his insurance problems.

“My health insurance would only cover so many days of my stay, and it just so happens that on that amount of days I was discharged,” Raasch explained.

The CT scans of Raasch’s stomach show a large mass by his pancreas.  Dr. Shawn Lanman with Alexandria Clinic found the mass and send Raasch to the University of Minnesota; however, they told him there was no mass.  Even though Raasch has proof there is in fact a mass in his stomach, the UofM won’t help him.

Raasch experiences intense stomach pain on a daily basis.  The pain is so great; his doctor isn’t allowing him to work at all.  Now Raasch can’t pay his bills.

“I’ve got bills.  I’ve got rent.  I mean I have all kinds of bills that need to be paid, and I can’t pay any of them,” Raasch said.

Those bills include his health insurance.  His insurance doesn’t cover most of his medical care, or some of his prescriptions.  The insurance won’t cover the 12 hour surgery Raasch needs to remove the mass.  He thinks that’s the reason Mayo and the UofM won’t help him.

“My insurance won’t cover it, and they won’t even see me without health insurance,” Raasch explained.

If he doesn’t pay his bills, Raasch might lose his insurance altogether.

“If they drop my health insurance, I’m like a fish out of water,” Raasch said.

He hopes the health care reform bill working its way through WashingtonD.C. will help his situation.  Until then, he’ll have to wait.