Suits, Closure Threaten Pet Store as Rabies Kills Kitten

CONCORD, N.H. — A death threat, the likelihood of being forced out of business and the possibility of lawsuits are the price pet store owner Tim Jandebeur is paying for selling a kitten that later died of rabies.

Hundreds of people who played with kittens in his store may also pay a price--rabies shots--though no cases of the deadly disease in humans have been reported.

After one kitten sold by Jandebeur died of rabies and four others that probably had the disease also died, state health officials called on anyone who bought kittens at the store or played with them to get shots. They said as many as 37 kittens at the store could have been exposed to rabies.

About 40 people received shots Tuesday at Concord Hospital. On Wednesday, scores were waiting when a special rabies clinic opened at the hospital, and hundreds more were on waiting lists to begin rabies shots.

“We will continue to see people all day and into the night until there are no more people to be seen,” hospital spokeswoman Beth Fensterwald said.

People can get rabies if they are bitten by an infected animal or if an infected animal’s saliva gets into broken skin, like a scratch, or into their mouth, nose or eyes.

By Wednesday, health officials had accounted for all of the store’s kittens and expected to release test results by today. Five still at the store did not have rabies.

“You want to know the truth, I think I’m out of business,” said Jandebeur, owner of the Concord Aquarium & Pet Store for four years. “My wife and I are scared.”

Several store owners said Jandebeur took a risk by letting kittens run around his shop. Other stores don’t let animals run free, and some, unlike Jandebeur’s, don’t accept kittens from the public.

In a talk show on WKXL radio, Jandebeur accused the news media of distorting the story and exaggerating the threat. He said his 5-year-old son is getting rabies shots, though he is not himself.

After the rabies report surfaced, he said, the store did only $3 in business Tuesday morning. And he said he had received one death threat: “Someone called and said that he would come down and kill me if his kid had rabies.”

Jandebeur said he gets kittens from a few local families. Each is inspected by a veterinarian, but cats cannot be vaccinated against rabies until they are about 16 weeks old, he said. Kittens often are sold before then.