GREENSBORO, N.C. — Guilford County Animal Control said a fox attacked and injured two people in Greensboro Wednesday night.
A representative said it happened in the 600 block of Coronado Drive around 6:30 p.m.
Animal Control took the fox and tested it for rabies. On Friday, the results came back positive for rabies, Lisa Lee of Animal Control said. Officer Patterson said the fox was already dead when he got there.
He said it was a man and a woman who were bitten. Both victims were taken to a nearby hospital and were given shots for rabies. They were bitten around the arms and legs, Lee said.
A 911 call paints a grim picture.
"Oh my God she has blood all over, two people have gotten bit now," the caller said.
"Two people now?" The dispatcher questioned.
"Yeah," the caller said. "They got rocks around it, and they're hitting {the fox} with the sledgehammer oh my God."
"They just killed the fox?"
The dispatcher advised the caller to get them away from the fox.
"I know you said they were hitting the fox with the sledgehammer, but in order to test for rabies we do need to make sure the head of the fox was not severely damaged because that’s how, they need to be able to access its mouth," the dispatcher said.
WFMY News 2's Jess Winters interviewed Jessica Hoffman, Vice President of Animal Care and Welfare at the Greensboro Science Center. She asked if there are obvious signs of a rabid fox.
"You’re not always going to know sometimes there are very clear signals especially if they’re in more of an advanced state so if you see odd behavior, maybe they’re not walking right, they’ve got imbalance or kind of spinning," Hoffman explained. "There’s sometimes the obvious foaming at the mouth but you’re not always going to see those symptoms."
Hoffman said foxes usually keep to themselves, so if you see one approaching you - keep your distance.
"Certainly if they're approaching you that's not normal because a fox, if it sees you in normal thinking, it's going to want to run away, it's going to want to hide but if it's just coming up to you not fearful that's usually a pretty good sign {of rabies}."