King County has issued a warning to pet owners in response to a suspected outbreak of canine distemper, an extremely contagious and incurable viral disease, in raccoons.

Photo taken in Ballard on Sunday from the deck of Nic Launceford’s apartment on NW 59th. More photos can be found here.

“King County residents are reminded to avoid feeding wildlife, keep domestic pets away from wild animals, and be sure their pets’ vaccinations are current,” a release sent by the county, PAWS and the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife states. Samples from a raccoon in Bellevue have been sent to Washington State University for testing.

Although humans and cats cannot get canine distemper, it is highly contagious among dogs and other animals. “Dogs are normally vaccinated against canine distemper, but the disease has become generally uncommon and some pet owners are not getting their pets vaccinated,” said Dr. Sharon Hopkins, the Veterinarian for Public Health – Seattle & KingCounty. The release goes on to say, “Distemper causes encephalitis, inflation of the brain, in animals. Infected animals may have runny eyes and stagger, tremble, foam at the mouth or snap, according to veterinarians. Daytime activity by a raccoon does not necessarily indicate the animal is sick.”

This is particularly important as there have been a number of incidents of raccoons attacking domestic animals, and in some cases their owners, in Queen Anne over the last year. Pet owners, especially those with smaller animals, are advised to vaccinate their pets against distemper and be extremely cautious when leaving them outside unsupervised.

Pangolin Pictures has been hired by the Discovery Channel to produce a film about animal encounters. Justin, from Pangolin, emailed our sister site, MyBallard, after hearing about recent raccoon and coyote encounters in Ballard and Queen Anne. He wrote:

We are working on a film that will air on the Discovery Channel later this year about how animals and humans struggle to coexist in urban and suburban environments. This is NOT some sort of “When Animals Attack” show, it’s a serious natural history project, featuring biologists, animal experts, and people who have had encounters with these animals. The aim is to educate people on why these animals are showing up in their yards and what can be done to stay safe.

Here in Queen Anne we’ve had quite a few run-ins with raccoon and coyotes, but the folks at Pangolin Pictures are looking for stories involving other animals as well. “We are looking at raccoons, coyotes, poisonous spiders, snakes, alligators and fire ants. By all means if people have had dangerous encounters with coyotes or been bitten by spiders I would like to speak with them as well,” Justin wrote. Production will begin this month. Anyone interested in sharing a story, can email him at justin@pangolinpictures.com.

Update: 7:37 p.m. – Justin confirms Tobey Maguire is on the set.

Update: 7:03 p.m. – Reader Justin, who lives on the block, writes:

Looks like the set is ready. Not sure if there’s any talent on set just yet, but they called “rolling” for the first time a couple minutes ago.

“The Details,” the indie dark comedy about a raccoon infestation, just can’t keep away from Queen Anne. Earlier this week star Tobey Maguire was shooting a scene at Kerry Park, and filming continued late into the night just a few blocks away.

Our reader, skibum1175, tipped us off that it looks like they’ll be filming on the top of the hill again tonight. The entire block of W Lee Street, in between 4th Ave W. and 5th Ave W. is blocked off for filming, and one of their loading trucks is already outside and waiting.

The signs indicate that the site is reserved from 1 p.m. until 10 p.m. tonight, but given that they were filming in Ballard earlier today and are not yet set up in Queen Anne, it looks like it could be a late night for the crew.

No word yet on which stars will be there, if any. But given that this is a film about raccoons, they’ve definitely picked the right town. If you happen to catch any filming action, email us at tips@queenanneview.com.

This week has been an interesting one around town. Our sister site, Magnolia Voice, has been busy reporting on a cougar that has been running around the neighborhood, causing officials to shut down Discovery Park and set a trap in an attempt to find the animal and relocate it.

This photo, courtesy of KIRO 7, shows the trap covered in ferns, with fish for bait. The Seattle Times has put together a video showing how the trap works. Watch it here.

Meanwhile, the elusive cat has been spotted again. And across the ship canal…

Over in Ballard another sister site, My Ballard, reports that a family of raccoons was spotted on Market Street.

It’s been a strange summer full of raccoon attacks, bears romping through the city, and cougar sightings all around. So far there have been no recent sightings on Queen Anne. But given what’s been happening in our neighboring communities, keep your eyes peeled for more critters.