GASTONIA, N.C. — A dog in Gaston County killed a skunk last Friday that has since tested positive for rabies, police said.
Officers with Gaston County Police Animal Care and Enforcement responded to a call about a dog that had killed a skunk in the 2300 block of Whitworth Road in Cherryville.
Police said there was no human contact with the skunk.
The skunk was sent to the North Carolina Laboratory of Public Health in Raleigh on Monday, according to police.
Officials said they received the lab results a day later, indicating the skunk tested positive for rabies.
The dog that killed the skunk had not received a rabies vaccination and was humanely euthanized in accordance with state law, police said.
Gaston County police wanted to underscore the importance of having a valid rabies vaccination for all pets.
Police said they also notified Gaston County Department Health and Human Services about the incident.
This is the fourth confirmed rabies case in Gaston County this year. In January, Animal Care said a family dog killed a fox at a home along Plymouth Street in Gastonia. That fox later tested positive for rabies.
And in March, two raccoons tested positive for rabies in separate incidents.
WATCH BELOW: Elderly woman killed, 1 hurt in Gaston County house fire
©2025 Cox Media Group
