We have found several dead animals in our fenced in back yard over the past several months; raccoons, skunks, opossums, squirrels and rabbits. It doesn't appear that they are injured or have been shot, they all look like they just crawled into the yard and died. I'm concerned that a neighbor may be poisoning them. We have two small dogs that love to play out in the yard so I'm concerned about them picking up anything such as rabies or just getting sick from being in the same area. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Because you are dealing with so many species, I'm going to recommend that you call the Illinois Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist who covers that area. His name is Rich Whitton and he can be reached at (618) 993-7148.

Unless the dogs come into direct contact with a sick animal, or one that has very recently died, there shouldn't be concern about them picking up anything from the animals. But, if the animals are being poisoned, you do want to make sure that the dogs aren't consuming any of the carcasses. Rich will have more advice.