SUMMERFIELD, N.C. — What was a normal weekend took a scary turn for one Summerfield man.
Charles McClintock typically spends his weekends outdoors, smoking meats. Last Saturday, he went out to check on his barb-e-que when something else caught his eye.
McClintock spotted a fox come out from under his deck, go under his trailer, then back into the woods. He caught the fox on video just before 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning. At that point, he did not think much of the situation, he simply let the fox be.
Fast forward three hours, McClintock had just gotten back from his friend's house, he got out of his truck, and the fox latched onto his right leg.
"I was able to make my way over to the side of the house and hold onto the corner of the house to really swing my leg and try and get him off my leg which this went on for several minutes. I had my breakfast and my coffee in my left hand and I'm just sitting there swinging my leg, kicking the deck, kicking the side of the house and trying to get him to break loose," McClintock recalled.
Several minutes later, McClintock was finally able to shake the fox off of his leg. He believes he broke its jaw on the side of the deck causing the fox to unlatch. McClintock said he has his concealed carry permit. Therefore, once the fox was off his leg, he shot it.
He then called animal control, who came out and promised to get the fox tested. He found out on Tuesday the fox was rabid.
"I'm on edge right now, but it's one of those things I just have to work through and just kind of get back to normal life. But right now, I'm parking my truck in a different spot where I can see what's under it when I walk to my truck. I do have night lighting installed at my property in the trees that shine down in the driveways. I have a couple of different parking areas and all of its well-lit," McClintock reacted.
McClintock shared he is now in the process of getting the rabies vaccination series and is expected to be okay.
As of Thursday afternoon, Guilford County confirmed 16 cases of animal rabies in 2024. The county released the following tips to prevent residents from rabies exposure. The county recommends people avoid any animal displaying unnatural behavior, feed their pets indoors, and avoid separating fighting animals.
