A river otter that has since tested positive for rabies has bitten a 74-year-old man and a dog from Florida.
Joseph Scaglione was feeding the ducks and geese outside his home as he “normally” does when the attack happened on Sept. 20, according to FOX affiliate WSVN and ABC affiliate WPBF .
Suddenly, the ducks scattered and the Jupiter resident came face to face with the otter, according to reports.
“I backed up against the fence, but when I started to close the door, she took off,” Scaglione told NBC affiliate WPTV. The man said he tried to push the animal away, and it then bit his hands.
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Scaglione avoided the attack by throwing the otter away from him, giving him enough time to run to safety, according to WPBF.
A Florida man was bitten 41 times on his legs, hands and arms, according to outlets.
Later that same day, the same otter attacked a dog walking the couple and their baby in the same neighborhood where Scaglione was bitten, according to WSVN and WPBF.
Eventually, residents trapped the otter under a recycling bin until an officer arrived on the scene. The three-year-old otter gnashed her teeth and bit her carrier, reports WPTV.
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The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, which did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, confirmed that the otter tested “positive for rabies” on Saturday, according to a statement from the department.
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“I have two stab wounds. I’m not sure if he’s doing well or whatever,” said Scaglione, who has since undergone rabies treatment, according to WSVN and WPBF. “One is on the corner where the cuticle was.”
Despite the attack, Scaglione plans to continue feeding the ducks and geese that gather behind his house.
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