TEMPLE – In 2003, there was a total of 29 confirmed cases of rabies reported in Franklin, Oxford and Androscoggin Counties. But one recently confirmed case resulted in vaccinations for a Temple woman.

Shari Lariviere is undergoing a series of shots to avoid getting the disease, which could have been transmitted to her by her puppy. The puppy was bitten by a rabid skunk in November.

Sledge, her bloodhound, was 13 weeks old when he was euthanized Nov. 24. Lariviere said she had two choices when she learned that the dog’s injury came from a rabid animal – she could keep it in quarantine for six months, during which time it could have contact with only one person, or she could put it down.

“What kind of puppy would we have gotten from that?” she asked. And if the puppy had developed the disease, there would be no saving him. She also learned from a Boston veterinary hospital that more than 95 percent of rabies-exposed animals not fully inoculated develop the disease.

Despite having all his shots up to date, a dog as young as Sledge is typically not fully protected yet from rabies, she said.

The family took their new pet to the veterinarian the day before Thanksgiving.

“It was an emotional roller coaster. We were totally devastated,” she said.

Lariviere is upset, too, because she heard later there had been another incident with a seemingly rabid skunk near her Intervale Road home only four days before her dog’s encounter.

She said a man and woman had been chased into their house by a skunk that had bitten the cuff of the man’s pants but did not injure him. Lariviere said people in the area should have been notified by authorities. Had she known, she said, she would have been more careful with her pup and would have accompanied it on its run.

“All I can think of is a little kid on a swing set or an elderly person,” who might be attacked, she said.

Game Warden Tom Jacobs said he received a call from a Temple resident on Wednesday reporting another dog bitten by a skunk. Lariviere knew of this third incident and reported Friday afternoon that this skunk, too, had tested positive for rabies.

Jacobs said he hadn’t heard about the first incident but said that pet owners should always be careful with their pets.

Rabies is always around, he said. This sentiment was echoed by Chuck Hulsey, state wildlife biologist.

Both Jacobs and Hulsey said it is unusual to see raccoons, skunks and other small mammals out this time of year, and those that are roaming about have a greater potential of being rabid.

People and pets exposed to rabies can be successfully treated if caught early, but can be difficult to impossible to cure in later stages, Hulsey said. Only a handful of people have been known to survive rabies in its late stages.

The Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory advises anyone who believes they may have been exposed to the disease to contact a health care professional immediately after thoroughly washing the wound for at least 10 minutes. They should also contact the lab at 287-2727 or 287-6582 or the 24-hour emergency consultation line at 1-800-452-1999.