South Charlotte family’s dogs were exposed to a rabid raccoon, prompting alert
A south Charlotte family’s pets were exposed to a raccoon that tested positive for rabies, prompting a neighborhood alert by health officials Tuesday night.
The dogs came into contact with the raccoon near Carmel Park Drive, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Animal Care & Control Division. That’s off Fairview Road east of Charlotte Country Day School.
The case is Mecklenburg County’s first of the year of a confirmed rabid animal, according to animal control officials.
A text message alert will be sent at 7 p.m. Tuesday to people in the 28226 zip code, officials said in a news statement.
Officials provided no further details of the encounter between the raccoon and dogs but said the pets were current on their rabies vaccines. The dogs received booster shots within the required four-day period, officials said.
Mecklenburg had 16 rabies cases last year and 14 in 2018, according to data from CMPD’s Animal Care & Control Division.
The 2019 cases included eight raccoons and two each of skunks, cats, bats and foxes.
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 5:15 PM.