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Mountain Island neighbors alerted after raccoon tests positive for rabies

A raccoon, like the one pictured above, hitched a ride on the back of a Virginia garbage truck and traveled miles before the driver stopped and police helped catch and release him.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Mecklenburg County Health Department is alerting people who live near Marengo Circle in the Mountain Island neighborhood that a raccoon from that area has tested positive for rabies.

Animal Care and Control officials said two pets were exposed to the raccoon but that both animals had already been vaccinated for rabies.

Animal Care and Control offers a free monthly clinic for Mecklenburg County residents to have their pets inoculated against rabies. The clinic takes place the second Saturday of each month from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the animal shelter on Byrum Drive.

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