Fox Bites Two Women in Aberdeen

This fox was seen on Sycamore St. in Aberdeen back in February. Photo by Glenn M. Sides

As of Wednesday, July 20, 2011

A fox attacked two women Tuesday morning in Aberdeen, authorities said.

Virgina Clayton was outside her home on Chancery Lane about 6:40 a.m. when she saw a fox, Aberdeen police said. The fox ran at her, and she called for help.

Her mother, Martha Swaringen, and a neighbor, George Gullickson, came to her aid. The three eventually subdued the animal, but not before it bit both women.

Animal Control officers collected the carcass and sent it off to the state to be tested for rabies. The results of the tests are expected back today, said Al Carter, director of Moore County Animal Control.

Carter said Clayton told animal control officers she had a cat with her, and it ran between her legs when the fox came toward her and bit her. The fox did not bite the cat.

Carter said Clayton grabbed the fox while Gullickson hit it with a shovel, and that Clayton dropped the fox before Swaringen grabbed it and was bitten.

Gullickson later said that Swaringen, and not he, had hit the fox with a shovel. He said they threw it in a trash bin and that animal control officers later killed it.

Both women drove themselves to the hospital for treatment, Aberdeen police said.

This is the first confirmed fox attack within Aberdeen's city limits this year, Aberdeen Deputy Police Chief Jim Foster and Carter said.

Three animals - a skunk and two raccoons - have tested positive for rabies this year.

Since 2005, six foxes in Moore County have tested positive for rabies. The most recent case occurred in June 2010, when an 11-year-old boy was attacked near the intersection of Midway Road and Sycamore Street in Aberdeen.

Contact Tom Embrey at tembrey@thepilot.com.

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KJackson 1 year, 10 months ago

It's true when they say that "common sense isn't so common.". The proper thing for these people to do should have been going back inside the house and calling Animal Control. It should be common sense not to "subdue" a supposed rabid animal.

geozap 1 year, 10 months ago

The story is not really descriptive of what actually occurred. Virgina a.k.a Lee was outside sitting on her back porch when the fox came up to her. She tried to get away from it and go into her home when the animal attacked her, she yelled for her mom; Martha to come and help her at this time the fox was latched onto her ankle and biting for everything it was worth. When her mom came to help the animal attacked Martha. So she started screaming for help, I and several neighbors came to help the two women. Martha is 80 years old and was trying to kill the animal with a shovel when I arrived on the scene. She manged to get the animal by the neck and then she dumped it into a recycle bin. I dialed 911 and requested police and EMS, both ladies had been bitten multiple times and needed some first-aid. The animal was held in the waste bin until animal control arrived 45 minutes later. I promise you if we could have "just gone back inside" with out having contact with the animal we would have. Lee ended up with 9 stitches, and Martha with 3 along with numerous bites on the arms not to mention all the shots they must endure. Things happened so fast the ladies had to react to the Fox attack, and just so you know County Animal Control will only respond to domestic animals, and animal attacks. The North Carolina Wildlife Officers will not respond unless an incident occurs and a wild animal is involved. The best thing is to go inside and stay away from the wildlife if possible. In this case the animal attacked before anyone could get away from it.

FightFireWithFire 1 year, 10 months ago

Sorry to hear of the ladies being attacked. Rabies cases are on the rise in the U.S. http://americanhumaneblog.org/2010/09/rabies-on-the-rise-is-your-pet-protected/

Rabies shots are not painful and as bad as they used to be. People can and should get pre-exposure vaccines if they live in areas that have reported rabies cases.

From Wiki: Some people are afraid to seek treatment for rabies exposure because they've read or heard about 23 painful shots in the stomach. That is not true anymore.

"Post-exposure" treatment is called for after a bite or lick from a suspected rabid animal. Since the 1980s, in the United States, it has consisted of a series of only five fairly painless shots in the arm. A shot of specific anti-rabies globulin is also administered in the buttocks once at the start of treatment. Rabies injections were ordinarily given around navel because a complete course of treatment takes 14 days or 21 days in some cases. For adequate treatment one (very painful) injection daily without fail is essential. Only abdomen has sufficient muscular area for so many injections on different spots. Hence, injections are given on the stomach.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_are_rabies_treatment_shots_given_in_the_stomach

amb 1 year, 10 months ago

I was one of the first to arrive to assist the 2 ladies. It was a terrible sight. The worst thing all of this could have been avoided. Two weeks ago the fox would come up near my porch at woodlawn in the late evening and early morning. He would get very close and just sit there. It was uncommon for a fox not to be scared of a human. I even stomped my foot and it did not faise him at all. I called Animal control and their response was, we can not do anything until something happens.

In my eyes my neighbors would not have been bitten or suffer through the rabies treatments if they would have trapped the fox at that point. THe behavoir alone of the fox should had been reason enough to trap it since it is so unusual for them to not be timid and sit and look at you.

AMB