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Two dogs take a rabid raccoon, prompting an alert in Enfield

The town’s post reads, "Alert, there has been a confirmed case of rabies in the West Enfield area of town. The rabid raccoon has been disposed of." The woman who's dogs were involved in a fight with the raccoon says, 'it was hissing, it was scary, it was actually terrifying'.

ENFIELD, Maine — Enfield in Penobscot County posted a rabies warning on its Facebook page Thursday.

The town’s post reads, "Alert, there has been a confirmed case of rabies in the West Enfield area of town. The rabid raccoon has been disposed of."

This comes after that raccoon got into a fight with two family pets.

Lisa Miller's dogs, Nellie and Ben, started barking on Monday. That's when she noticed an animal under her car.

"It was hissing, it was scary, it was actually terrifying," she said. "I was screaming so loud that I lost my voice for a couple days."

And her dogs were bitten and scratched multiple times by the raccoon.

Lisa says her husband shot and killed the raccoon. Thankfully, he did so in the stomach so the animal could still be tested for rabies.

"That requires that we do have the animal in hand and we can take samples from its undamaged brain," Nathan Bieber said. Bieber is a wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Lisa and her husband Trey and their dogs were all treated for rabies. The two dogs were also treated for their injuries.

According to the Maine CDC Division of Public Health Systems, this is the fourth rabies case in Penobscot County and the 22nd case in the state this year.

"Be aware of your surroundings and report any sick acting animals. Call a Game Warden 941-4440 or 1-800-432-7381," the Facbook post also read.

There were 76 cases of rabies in Maine in 2018.

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