A rabid skunk that attacked a Rottweiler in its enclosure Friday tested positive for rabies, said the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
The Rottweiler, which was not vaccinated, killed the skunk without being bitten, but its owners and their veterinarian will decide the dog’s fate, the sheriff’s office said. The dog has been in quarantine at its home on Rocky Ridge in Waldoboro since the incident.
The skunk was taken to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which did the rabies test.
The rabies virus affects the brain and spinal cord and can cause death if left untreated. The virus can be spread if a rabid animal’s saliva or neural tissue has contact with a person or animal’s mouth, nose or eyes, or enters a cut in the skin.
Skunks, racoons, bats and foxes are common carriers of rabies in Maine.
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