Grandmother, 77, pins down rabid fox that bit her

[July 15, 2008]  STROUDSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A 77-year-old grandmother was recovering at home after she pinned down a rabid fox that bit her and held it until help arrived. Avis Blakeslee was attacked as she tended to her petunias outside her Stroudsburg farmhouse.

She said she pushed the animal to the ground after it bit her, and held its jaws shut with one arm as she flagged down a passing driver with the other.

Blakeslee's teenage grandson, who lives next door, heard the motorist's cries and ran to help, followed by Blakeslee's son, who shot the animal.

Blakeslee lost a large amount of blood. She underwent surgery to clean out her seven leg wounds and arm wound, and spent four days in the hospital after the attack last week.

"I've been on a lot of antibiotics and pain medicine," she said.

Cory Bentzoni, a wildlife conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, said tests confirmed that the fox was rabid.

Blakeslee said she initially thought the animal was a dog.

"I had never seen a fox," she said. "I've seen a dead one once."

[Associated Press]

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