Margaret Burhenn was attacked by a rabid fox that came from the woods adjoining her Lee's Hill South home. SCOTT NEVILLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

These are some of the bites sustained by Margaret Burhenn of Spotsylvania when she was attacked by a rabid fox. SCOTT NEVILLE/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

A Spotsylvania woman is recovering after being attacked in her yard by a rabid fox

Date published: 5/15/2008

BY JIM HALL

Margaret Burhenn was mowing grass at her Lee's Hill South home last week when she felt something bite her. When she looked down, she saw a fox at her ankle.

"I knew right away I was in trouble," she said.

Burhenn was bitten repeatedly while wrestling with the fox. A neighbor came to her aid and killed the animal with a shovel.

This week Burhenn learned from the Health Department what she suspected all along, that the fox was rabid. She's been receiving treatments at Mary Washington Hospital.

"I didn't think that I was the type that would know how to scream," she said. "I found out I was."

The number of cases of rabies in wild animals is down this year, compared to last year, according to Lisa Hill, environmental health supervisor for the Rappahannock Area Health District.

Still, Burhenn, 66, is the third person in the region to be bitten by a rabid animal this year. And each case is a reminder that, despite the area's growth, residents are still living among unpredictable wild animals.

The attack on Burhenn happened at about 5 p.m. May 7, in her yard on Carlyle Court.

The fox came from the tree line behind her as she was pushing her mower. She never saw the animal until it bit her.

Burhenn said the next few seconds were chaos, with the mower running, her screaming and the fox strangely silent.

She repeatedly kicked at the fox to get it away. But it latched onto her shoe, snagging its teeth in her shoelaces.

Soon she was on the ground, kicking at the animal and pushing at it with her hands.

"Help me, help me, somebody help me," she yelled.

At first, no one heard her. And as the seconds ticked away, she began to feel like she was fighting for her life.

"I grabbed it around the neck and pushed it to the ground and held it against the ground as hard as I could," she said.

The fox bucked up with its rear legs and escaped her grip. When it came at her again, she grabbed it behind the head and pinned it to the ground, trying to suffocate it.

Finally, a neighbor, Mike Burton, came running and grabbed a shovel from her garage.

"Let it go," Burton told her.

INFORMATION ON THE DISEASE RABIES IS DEADLY Rabies is a deadly virus that attacks the nervous system of mammals. It is passed to humans through the bite of an infected animal. If untreated, it is almost always fatal. However, human death because of rabies has become rare, thanks in part to quick treatment and the widespread vaccination of household pets. Each year, three or four local residents are treated after being bitten by rabid animals. --Jim Hall CONFIRMED CASES BY THE NUMBERS Confirmed cases of rabies in wild foxes, raccoons and bats so far this year by the Rappahannock Area Health District Cases during the same period last year CASES BY COUNTY Spotsylvania Caroline Stafford King George NUMBER TWO? SECOND FOX SIGHTED The Spotsylvania County Animal Control office has confirmed the sighting of a second fox in the Lee's Hill area that appears to be rabid. Officers have set traps. Residents are asked to report unusual animal behavior at 540/507-7460.

Read more stories about Fredericksburg
Date published: 5/15/2008

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