Cooke, Denton and Wise counties were initially the hardest hit. But now it appears that the epidemic is moving south, including into Tarrant County, Lindley said. Last year, there were 45 rabies cases in Tarrant County. Domestic pets help form a fire wall between rabid animals in the wild and humans, public health professionals say. As long as infections are confined to the wild, and kept to a minimum, pets who have regular contact with humans don't get exposed.
Vaccination is crucial.
The four rabid dogs identified this year had either never gotten shots or their shots weren't up to date, Lindley said. Also, steer clear of any animals showing bizarre behavior, said Keane Menefee, Fort Worth's animal control supervisor. When the animal control officer arrived at Turpin's house, the skunk wasn't doing anything unusual, Menefee said. But just being out during the day is unusual and cause for concern. So did she.