Concerns grow over rabies for Wake County pet owners

Earlier this week a rabid raccoon was found in Cary, and two days later, a Garner resident was bitten by a fox.

"It just makes me very fearful I guess just because you don't think. You take your animals out. They go, they sniff, they explore," said Cary resident Rachael Everhart.

Cary Animal Control Supervisor Shelly Smith is reminding residents that a new state law went into effect this year that requires rabies vaccinations for pet owners.

"The responsible thing to do is to make sure they're current on their rabies inoculation," she said.

If the shots are not up to date and pets are bitten by a rabid animal, a local health director now has the authority to take drastic measures on the animals.

"They would either need to be euthanized or they would need to be quarantined for I believe it's four months. So the whole scenarios could be totally different and what matters here in my opinion as Animal lovers is we don't want anything bad to happen to our pets, which would be the dogs in this case," said Smith.

Orange County officials have also voiced a concern, reporting that there have been three positive rabies cases this year.