State health officials are urging pet owners to vaccinate their dogs and cats after rabies was confirmed in a fox in Socorro County.
The Health Department says the fox had attacked a young dog at a home about a mile south of Magdalena on March 23.
Tissue samples from the fox tested positive for rabies. The dog that was attacked had no history of rabies vaccination and had to be euthanized.
State veterinarian Paul Ettestad says there's the potential for other foxes in the area to be spreading rabies so it's important that all dogs and cats get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Heath officials say the last confirmed animal rabies cases in Socorro County were a calf and a bat, both in 2009.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.