South Charlotte family’s pet dog attacks and kills a rabid raccoon, prompting alert
A south Charlotte family’s pet dog attacked and killed a raccoon that turned out to have rabies, animal control officials said Tuesday.
The dog attacked the raccoon at 7:30 a.m. Friday in the Dan Maples Drive area, according to a news release by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department Animal Care & Control Division.
Dan Maples Drive is off Ardrey Kell Road near Providence Country Club
Mecklenburg County Health Department officials will send an alert about the raccoon’s positive test for rabies to nearby residents at 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to the release.
The dog was current on its rabies vaccine and will get a rabies vaccination booster, according to animal control officials. No people were exposed.
The raccoon was the seventh to test positive for the potentially fatal disease and 11th animal overall in Mecklenburg County this year, officials said. Two skunks, a cat and a bat also tested positive for rabies.
In 2018, 14 animals tested positive, including 10 raccoons and a coyote, fox, bat and cat.
Animal Care and Control offers a free monthly clinic for Mecklenburg County residents to have their pets inoculated against rabies, 8 a.m.-10:45 a.m. on the second Saturday, at the animal shelter at 8315 Byrum Drive.
This story was originally published September 10, 2019 at 5:37 PM.