Rabid raccoon killed in North Hall

GAINESVILLE - Hall County has its second confirmed rabies case of the new year.

Tammi McClellan, a spokeswoman for Hall County Animal Control, says state health officials said Thursday morning that a raccoon that was killed by a dog in the Baker Circle area of North Hall Friday was rabid.

McClellan explained the delay in getting a report back from the lab by saying "we don't ship to the lab on Fridays and because of the holiday, the raccoon was not shipped until Tuesday."

McClellan said the dog was "current" on its rabies vaccination and has been re-vaccinated.

She added people who live in the area where the animal was killed are being notified by animal control officers that it was rabid.

The year's first confirmed case was also a raccoon on January 13, but it was in South Hall. For all of last year, there were six confirmed cases of rabies in the county - the first not occurring until June.