Skunk Encounter and Rabies.

[Loki83]

So in my neighborhood there are skunks everywhere at night. A week ago I let our dog out at midnight and saw a skunk by our shed, before I could get her back in the house she ran over to the skunk got sprayed and the skunk ran under our deck. I promptly picked her up made the homemade skunk spray remedy and bathed her multiple times. Then a few nights later I was going out to put something out for trash and I looked over and basically one to two feet away I saw a skunk trying to get to the garbage. I slowly backed away and got onto my porch, the skunk went on the road raised its tail and then lowered it without spraying and ran into the neighbors yard. Would I get laughed out of a doctors office if I tried to get rabies exposure shots? I keep thinking what if the saliva was on my dog and got into the cracks on my hand while I bathed her or the skunk scratched or brushed up against me while I was standing by the garbage and I didn’t know it. Or I was tired and out of it and didn’t notice it bite or get me before running off. This heath anxiety makes me be out of touch with reality and I’m afraid stuff happens to me and I won’t notice because I’m not present if that makes sense? Our cat has my leg marked up from playing and nibbling at my leg when she was hungry so I’m like what if it was actually the skunk and I can’t tell the difference.

 

[stefanp]

From what I've read as a fellow rabies anxiety sufferer, skunk spray is not a rabies risk. Saliva on your dog is a risk but unless your dog fought the skunk, there is no way for it to have gotten there. You said the dog got sprayed and the skunk ran away. Also, I don't think it's likely that you wouldn't notice or feel an animal biting you, that is always painful, even if you were out of it and tired it would have woken you up. You could ask a doctor, In areas with a risk of rabies they prescribe the vaccines for all possible exposures.