Rabid Fox in Mitchell County - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

It is a sight that would shake many of us up, seeing your family pet in a fight with a wild animal, that is what one Mitchell County man witnessed last week.  

"What we had was an altercation between a fox and domesticated dog."

The jumped into to pull the fox off the dog only to get scratched by the deranged fox.

"The pet owner in the process of trying to break up the fight was scratched."

And that fox tested positive for the rabies virus, causing the man to go through a full course of Post Exposure Prophylaxis or rabies shots. But Environmental Health Officials say the signs of the disease were there all along.

Davis says, "The mere fact that he is fighting with a fox there is something that is unnatural there."

Earlier this year a Dougherty county woman was attacked by a rabid fox near her mobile home.

In May a Lee county man and a deputy were both attacked by a Rabid fox. Normally a docile creature a healthy fox won't attack, but it's the summer when more rabid animals come out of hiding.

 

"This time of year they are active, they are more out and about so there are more chances that they will encounter contact with humans and your pets." 

Making safety even more prevalent and avoiding contact with wild animals. 

"You want take caution, you don't want to start sticking your hands in and breaking up the fight, you never know what is going to happen, and in this case it was a worst case scenario."

Where one tiny scratch led to much more pain.