I heard a similar story on NPR the other day. It was about a woman who was walking in her neighborhood. She lived in a rural part of town. Apparently a rabid raccoon saw her and it made a b-line straight for her. She was about a half a mile from her house with no neighbors coming out to help her despite her frantic screams.

After struggling with the coon she was finally able to reach for her cell phone but had problems dialing it. The coon was clamped on her arm while she pinned it with her leg right into the snow. Finally her son and husband came to help after she was able to call. The son left to get a tire iron, and when he came back, pounded on the animal some 40 times, but the coon kept attacking. After a few more blows it finally died. The narrator said how animals who are rabid have more energy and can withstand pain because of the virus attacking it's brain, which also leads to more adrenalin being released into the body.

The story gets more interesting. She thought it was all down hill from here, but found the biggest problems yet to come. The red tape she encountered when she tried to seek medical attention was more worrisome than the attack itself. Not only did she feel betrayed by nature, but also by the medical community.

First, it was during a weekend so no local places were open. After leaving a message on the phone with one doctor, she decided to go to the emergency room, when someone told her she had 10 to 14 days to get a a rabies shot, she waited till monday to get help. The following monday, another doctor told her that she really had only 72 hours after a bite, and that she needed to get a shot by the end of the day.

The doc asked her to take the carcass and be checked for rabies first before administering a shot. With much pleading, she convinced them to give the shot and then worry about whether it was rabid or not because she didn't have much time left, especially if she had to find a place that would test the animal.

After a long bout, she realized that the shot costs upwards of 3200.. bucks. WOW....I was surprised to hear this. She finally got the shot and everything was ok.

She does not live in that town anymore for the fear that up in them hills, there are more animals just waiting for her to go out for a walk.

Pacattack05 - Thanks for that story. I really didn't think a whole lot about this since you don't hear these stories too often. The one I found was very brief, but it is very educational to know these things. I will have my 11 year old read both of these when he gets home from school so he will be aware of this issue while walking home from school.