A home invasion is never a laughing matter; it can be an extremely scary and dangerous situation. But how would you react if the invader was a skunk?

That's exactly what happened in the town of Newport, New York earlier this month, on Friday, September 2nd. This is from the press release from Herkimer County Public Health:

The skunk was trying to enter a residence and was aggressive towards humans and pets on the property. The property owner killed the skunk and submitted it via Herkimer County Public Health for rabies testing.

The results of that test came back on Wednesday, September 7th, revealing that the skunk did, in fact, have rabies.

BARENAKED RABIES

This incident comes weeks after a rabid fox was caught on video attacking a woman in Ithaca, New York. Thankfully the woman received no serious injuries, and the fox was captured and euthanized.

In case you missed that (darkly humorous) encounter, here it is from YouTube:

PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND PETS

Herkimer County Public Health is reminding people to vaccinate their pets against rabies, get their pets spayed or neutered, and not to feed any wild or unknown animals. Even if your pets are vaccinated, it's recommended you check their records to make sure they're up to date.

UPCOMING RABIES CLINICS

If you need to get your pet vaccinated against rabies, Herkimer County Public Health is hosting two upcoming rabies clinics:

September 15th, 2022: Cedarville Fire Department, 960 State Route 51, Cedarville, from 5:30pm to 7pm

October 6th, 2022: Little Falls Town Garage, 478 Flint Ave Ext., Little Falls, 5:30pm to 7pm

Rabies can make otherwise docile, harmless animals dangerous and insane. It's actually quite frightening.