There have been isolated cases of rabid cows and horses. The treatment for a bite by a rabid animal is long and painful. An unvaccinated animal that is bitten by a rabid animal should be destroyed. An unvaccinated animal that bites a human will likely be destroyed in order to test for rabies. In Rutherford Country, about 150 heads a year are sent off to be tested for rabies.
Rutherford County has more animals test positive for rabies than the rest of Tennessee.
Nearly all of the animal that test positive for rabies in Rutherford County are skunks, which are being driven out of their normal habitat by development. Racoons are beginning to show up in Eastern Tennessee with a new strain of rabies that may lead to increased cases of rabies among cows and horses.