Rabies.

Question
I have a question. On Thursday night I forgot to put a leash on my dog, and he ran up to a coon. The coon didn't bite him. I checked him out and he looked fine. Last night I was petting him and I felt something. I looked and it was scratches. But nothing more. I haven't noticed anything different with him. He is up to dates on shots. He was at the vet's office back in January of this year for his 3 yr rabies shots, and distemper. I want to know what is the possibility that my dog could have rabies? The coon that he went up to didn't look sick or anything. The coon just stood there, but it didn't try to attack or anything. It just walked away.

Answer
Well I am surprised that the raccoon didn't respond more than that, which worries me. But it was at night, and a lot of them are habituated to dogs, so unless the dog attacks it may well be used to dogs.

Since your dog is vaccinated, you are safer than not, however, most counties require that the dog get another booster vaccination right then to counter any chance of it being infected. And scratches sometimes can carry the virus if the raccoon just had it's paws in its mouth.

You should call your vet in the morning and ask what their recommendation is for that.

I am glad you keep him up to date on everything and now you can be too! I hope he is on heartworm prevention as well.