http://telegram.com/article/20080424/NEWS/804240677/1116
Fox bit Oxford man
Rabid animal is shot, killed
Fox bit Oxford man
Rabid animal is shot, killed
By Ellie Oleson CORRESPONDENT
OXFORD— The owner of a Worcester business has a handgun for his protection at work, but last week used the weapon to protect himself at home in Oxford, where he was twice attacked by a rabid fox.
Alvin J. Edison, 36, owner of Austin Furniture at 199 Chandler St. in Worcester, lives at 9 Lovett Road, a quiet street about a quarter-mile from The Home Depot. He was at home about 7 p.m. April 11, when he decided to wind his grandfather clock, which is near a window.
“I saw a fox run across the porch and called my wife to see it. We get a lot of wildlife out here, but that was our first fox,” Mr. Edison said.
His wife, Carey R. Bissonnette, who was caring for the couple’s 10-month-old son, Edward James “Azi” Edison, was concerned that the fox might have damaged her birdfeeders, so Mr. Edison went out on the porch to check, then walked toward the home’s other door, about 30 feet away.
“I felt something and looked down. There was a fox chewing on my ankle,” Mr. Edison said.
The fox, which he estimated to be 3 or 4 feet long, was lying on its side “like a playful cat” while it hung onto Mr. Edison’s sneakered left foot.
Unlike a playful cat, the powerful wild animal would not release its grip.
“I pulled my foot out of its mouth and kicked it a couple of times until I launched it and it tumbled down the hill,” Mr. Edison said.
The gray and red fox was not foaming at the mouth.
“It looked healthy, not emaciated or anything,” Mr. Edison said.
Mr. Edison went inside and checked his leg for injuries, and found a small cut, which he treated with alcohol.
Fortunately, he also called Oxford Animal Control and police, who advised him to go to an emergency room for treatment.
Mr. Edison went to Hubbard Regional Hospital in Webster, where he was given five shots, including two at the site of the wound, and was told he had to have a series of four additional rabies injections 3, 7, 14 and 28 days after the bite.
“It’s just a regular shot in the arm, not the old shots in the stomach, luckily. I haven’t had any bad reaction or anything,” Mr. Edison said.
By about 11 p.m., he was back home and decided to go outside to have a cigarette.
“My wife said to take my gun, a .357 pistol, which I have a permit to carry for personal protection,” he said. “She had some shirts drying on the porch rail. I saw the shirts move and assumed it was my cat. It wasn’t. I saw the fox two feet from me. I put my hand on the door and it came at me. I shot it once, then again. It lay on the porch floor until Animal Control took it away.”
Police Chief Michael J. Boss said that it is illegal to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, but he said the shots were justified because Mr. Edison was shooting to protect himself, in his own backyard, toward a wooded section with the shots heading into the ground.
Oxford Animal Control Officer Cindy J. Thompson collected the dead animal and refrigerated the body until Animal Control Officer Sheila S. Donohue could remove the head and send it to the state Department of Public Health’s State Laboratory Institute in Jamaica Plain, where it was tested for rabies.
“It takes about a week to test. It came back positive for rabies on Friday,” Ms. Donohue said.
Mr. Edison was away on business, but finally got the official word Tuesday that he had been bitten by a rabid fox.
“Luckily, I had started the shots anyway,” he said.
Ms. Donohue said, “Fortunately, he had started the protocol for rabies as a preventative. After anyone is bitten by a wild animal, they should get the shots. Rabies is fatal. It is important to notify the community that rabies is out there. Anyone who thinks it isn’t is fooling themselves.”
She said that, coincidentally, 48 dogs and cats were vaccinated at the town’s rabies clinic held April 5.
“Perhaps if this had happened sooner, more would have been vaccinated. It is imperative that all cats and dogs get vaccinated, even if the animal is kept indoors. Rabies is out there. That fox looked beautiful and healthy, but it wasn’t. Don’t take a chance. Get your pet vaccinated and avoid contact with wild animals. If you are bitten or scratched, get help.”
Donna Rheaume, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health in Boston, said, “We want to stress avoiding contact. Do not touch stray or wild animals."
