Kate Lisa and Melanie Lekocevic report for Columbia-Greene Media that there have been more rabies cases locally in the past few weeks. In Ravena, in southern Albany County, a woman was taken to the hospital after a rabid fox bit her three times on April 8. The same day a raccoon suspected of having rabies was killed on Route 9 in Hudson. “There was a staggering raccoon outside the former St. Lawrence Cement factory on Route 9 going out of Hudson,” said Ed Coons, environmental health director for the Columbia County Department of Health. “It was shot by local police.” Another unknown animal suspected of having rabies attacked a dog recently in Hudson. “There has been an unusual rise in the number of rabid raccoons in Columbia County. We have confirmed that we had eight out of nine raccoons test positive within the last nine weeks,” Coons said. “They were in contact with human beings or domestic animals, so they were shot either by police officers, homeowners or nuisance wildlife personnel, and then they were submitted (for testing).” Pets can get rabies vaccinations April 13 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Germantown Community Building in Palatine Park or April 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lexington Firehouse on Route 42 in Lexington. Read the full story at HudsonValley360.com.