A six-year-old Andalusia boy, bitten by a fox, has tested positive for rabies. Officials are warning the public about the dangers of wild animals.

The state lab has tested 19 animals from Covington County and four of them have tested positive for rabies this year.

Environmental Supervisor, Terry Kyzar says, "That animal was acting very much out of the norm. Foxes don't want to be around people, they want to stay away from people, but these kids were outside shooting fireworks and the fox ran up to him and bit him and then grabbed his shoe and ran off into the woods with it."

The holiday weekend was winding down, but 6-year-old Caleb Meredith and his 13-year- old cousin Austin were still celebrating. Their party ended abruptly when a fox came out of the woods and bit him.

"I knew it probably had rabies because you don't usually see a fox attack," said Austin.

At the time of the incident, Caleb did not even know what bit him. When Caleb's mother Ashley found out that her son had been bitten by a fox, she rushed him to the Andalusia Regional Hospital.

"When we got there, they said that they consider all foxes to have rabies, so they went ahead and give him the shots," said Ashley.

After the fox ran back into the woods, Caleb's uncle shot it. Officials sent it off for testing and confirmed the fox had rabies.

"We know that rabies is out there in the environment and that’s why we are telling people they need to vaccinate their dogs and cats against rabies. Domestic animals are the buffer between us and wildlife so we need those animals vaccinated to keep humans from getting exposed," said Kyzar.

Environmental officials warn people to stay away from wild or unfamiliar animals and if you do come in contact with one, wash the area of the body that was affected and contact your physician immediately for evaluation. Rabies can be fatal.