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<br /> <br /> <br />Third rabies case this year reminds Orange <br />County pet owners to vaccinate <br />Kaia Findlay | Published 02/23/17 12:47am <br /> <br />It all happened in a blur. <br />Susan Gladin entered her yard in rural Orange County Monday to see her dog playing <br />with a skunk. At first she thought it was cute, beautiful even, and snapped a picture of <br />it. Then she called her dog and stepped off the porch. That’s when the skunk attacked. <br />“I’m a very experienced animal person and I was just blindsided by how quickly the <br />thing moved,” she said. <br />The skunk scratched Gladin on the ankle, so she called 911. They put her through to <br />Orange County Animal Services, who brought the animal to their lab. The skunk tested <br />positive for rabies — the third positive test case this year. <br />Related Content <br /> <br />Seeing this third case isn’t cause for alarm, said Orange County Community Relations <br />Director Todd McGee. Instead, it provides an opportunity for education and awareness <br />in the community about rabies, vaccinations and what to do after an encounter with a <br />rabid animal. <br />Rabies affects the nervous system and gets transmitted through saliva or contact with <br />nervous system tissue. In the southeastern United States, raccoons act as the host <br />animal for the rabies virus. Other animals that contract the disease get infected due to <br />scratches or bites from an infected host. <br />The number of rabies cases ebbs and flows, said Bob Marotto, director of Animal <br />Services. <br />The lab saw six positive cases in 2016 and 10 positives in 2015. These totals are a <br />significant decline from the 23 laboratory-positive cases in 2014.