Crazed raccoon in Ballantyne neighborhood exposed families’ dogs to rabies, police say
A crazed raccoon in a Ballantyne neighborhood exposed families’ dogs to the potentially fatal disease, police said.
Residents of High Oaks Lane received an alert Tuesday night after the raccoon tested positive for the disease, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Animal Care & Control Division.
High Oaks Lane is south of Ballantyne Commons Parkway in south Charlotte.
The raccoon exposed at least five dogs in the neighborhood to rabies, division officials said in a news release.
No humans were believed to have been exposed, but anyone with concerns about potential exposure should call Carson Phillips at 980-314-9214 or Jose Peña at 980-314-9210, division officials said.
It was not immediately known if the south Charlotte dogs had their required vaccinations.
The raccoon was the eighth in Mecklenburg County to test positive for rabies this year, according to Animal Care & Control data. Two foxes also tested positive, agency data show.
Last year, nine raccoons, two bats, two foxes, a skunk and a cat tested positive, officials said.
In 2019, 16 animals tested positive for rabies, including eight raccoons, according to the division. In 2018, 14 tested positive, 10 of which were raccoons, officials said.
Also Tuesday:
▪ Gaston County reported its sixth confirmed rabies case of the year, in a raccoon attacked by a family’s two dogs in their yard on Saturday, Gaston County Police Capt. Reid Rollins said in a news release.
The family lives in the 2200 block of Scottwood Drive in Gastonia, Rollins said.
The dogs were up to date on rabies vaccinations and got a booster shot, according to Rollins.
Police also reported that a stray dog had to be euthanized last week after killing a raccoon in a family’s backyard in the 400 block of Woodlawn Avenue in Gastonia. Test results on the raccoon came back positive for rabies, according to Gaston County Animal Care and Enforcement.
The family had no vaccination record for the dog, and Animal Control workers found no microchip on the animal.
▪ Matthews police reported that a raccoon on Pinewood Hill Drive in the Southwoods neighborhood tested positive for rabies. On Friday, an officer responded to a report of a sick or injured raccoon in the neighborhood, Officer Tim Aycock said in a news release. Animal Care & Control workers killed the animal and sent a specimen to a lab for tests, he said.
No humans were known to have been exposed, according to Aycock, but he urged anyone who came into contact with a raccoon in the neighborhood, or believes their pets did, to call the Mecklenburg County Health Department immediately at 704-614-6512 or 704-589-3242.
An animal exposed to the rabies virus might not show symptoms for three or more weeks, Aycock said.