A mom was horrified to learn the baby goats her young son had fed by hand at a petting zoo – where tiny mouths and slobber are all part of the fun – were infected with rabies.

Rebecca Lanning and her 4-year-old son spent Aug. 15 at a dinosaur exhibit in Mocksville, North Carolina, where the day offered plenty beyond the prehistoric attraction. There were carnival games and food trucks, and among it all was a petting zoo where the little boy fed baby goats by hand.

That changed days later when Lanning received an unexpected call from the boy’s aunt, who called her and said, “Hey, we have a situation,” the mother told NBC News.

The situation was far more frightening than she could have imagined: four baby goats from the petting zoo her son had visited, had contracted rabies.

She immediately took her son to see a doctor, who gave the child a course of rabies vaccinations to prevent the virus from taking hold.

Why rabies is so dangerous

Rabies attacks the central nervous system and is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal, most commonly through a bite or scratch.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies rabies as a “neglected tropical disease,” and the stakes become extraordinarily high once someone develops symptoms: at that point, the infection is almost always fatal.

Those symptoms may not emerge immediately, with the incubation period potentially lasting weeks or months. Early signs can resemble other illnesses and include fever, headache, weakness and general discomfort.

Treatment given promptly after a potential exposure can prevent the disease before symptoms appear, which is why health officials are urging anyone who had contact with the affected goats to seek advice rather than wait to see if they become sick.

‘Don’t want to bury my child’

According to the WHO, rabies can spread when saliva from an infected animal enters the body, including through a bite or scratch, or comes into contact with the eyes or mouth.

That possibility terrified Lanning. Her son was only 4, and after feeding the goats, there was no way to know whether he had touched his face without anyone noticing.

“My fear is that if he was feeding the goats, and he’s 4, who’s to say that he didn’t touch his mouth or eyes?” she said. “I don’t want to bury my child.”

But Lanning’s son has already started that preventive treatment.

Four little goats caught in the middle

The animals belonged to Farm Adventures, a mobile petting zoo based in North Carolina that brought its animals to events around the state, putting the goats in contact with visitors ranging from young children to residents of an assisted living facility.

Health officials say potential exposure may have occurred between July 28 and Aug. 27, and authorities are now working with event organizers to identify people who interacted with the animals during that period.

‘These goats are my life’

But behind the public health warning is another sad part of the story.

“These goats are my life. My animals are my life,” Misty Love, the owner of Farm Adventures, told WSB-TV.  “My animals are the most important thing in life, in the world to me. So, it’s hard.”

According to Love, the kids – Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno – were still too young to receive their rabies vaccinations and were being kept together in a separate pen when an infected skunk got inside.

After she “shooed the skunk out,” she freed the goats from their enclosure and watched them “jumping around playing.”

“They didn’t even get sprayed. So, we’re like, everything’s good,” she said, not realizing the babies had been bitten.

It wasn’t until later when a couple of goats started showing symptoms of illness that a veterinarian diagnosed the four with rabies.

All four goats were ultimately euthanized to prevent any further risk of the virus spreading.

‘Please just go get vaccinated’

After learning the animals had rabies Love acted quickly and informed the public.

“For my peace of mind and your peace of mind, please just go get vaccinated,” Love said, explaining that all her older animals, and staff, are vaccinated against rabies.

And despite issuing a statement about the goats having rabies, she told WSB-TV that she’s been “trashed” online.

“It’s been a nightmare…It’s hard,” said the woman about the backlash.

But for Lanning, the warning came in time for her little boy to receive the preventive care that can stop rabies before it ever has the chance to make him sick.

For families who crossed paths with Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno over those weeks, the focus is now on determining whether treatment is needed, with North Carolina health officials warning people not to wait for symptoms before seeking guidance.