Another rabies alert in South Hall

GAINESVILLE - For the second time this year, there is a confirmed case of rabies in Hall County.

Gainesville-Hall County Animal Control Officer Rick Phillips says a fox which was killed Friday after coming in contact with a dog on Bolding Road in the South Hall area has been confirmed as rabid.

That's the same area where the earlier incident occurred.

Phillips says that's a first for him.

"We've never...in my tenure with the county discovered two (rabid animals) in the same area," Phillips said.

But, Phillips says such a finding is not surprising because of the chance that a rabid wild animal would come in contact with another animal and infect it.

The confirmation that the fox was rabid came Tuesday from the Georiga Public Health Lab.

Phillips says a door-to-door canvas was immediately begun to alert people in the area to be on the lookout for any "abnormally acting" animals - wild or domestic.

The first confirmed case of rabies in Hall County this year came in mid-April after a dog and a fox, later determined to be rabid, came in contact with each other on Freeport Drive in the Blackshear Place area.

In each case this year, according to Phillips, the dogs had to be put to sleep after the incidents because their rabies vaccinations were not current.

Phillips emphasized the importance of keeping cats and dogs vaccinated, not only because its the law in Georgia, but also for the protection of both the pet, the pet owner and others.