Police and firefighters were notified shortly after 9 p.m. Monday that a 12-year-old boy who lives on Route 44 was bitten by an animal. Animal control officers in Rehoboth believe that the wild animal may have been a fisher cat or a fox.
“The animal had bitten him and he had tried to get into the house. The boy slammed the door on it,” said Animal Control Officer Jane Foster. “The animal just wouldn’t let him go. Finally the animal let him go and the mother threw something I think she threw a hammer or something at him to get him away and we didn’t find the animal.”
Since the animal has not been found or tested to check for rabies, rabies shots are the safest response to the bite. According to Foster, the boy had bite marks on his left leg and right hand.
A neighbor told Eyewitness News that wild animals run rampant around rural Rehoboth.
“Usually if you don’t bother them they don’t bother you. But this one seemed to have a problem. It must’ve been either protecting its young or it was rabid,” said Dan Carr.
On Tuesday morning, animal control officers set a large trap near the boy’s home.
(WPRI - July 1, 2014)
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