8 People Attacked by Human-Raised Squirrel in California

Novato, California -  Eight people were attacked by what is believed to be a human-raised squirrel in the Pleasant Valley area of Novato between Nov. 13 and Friday, the Marin Humane Society and the Marin County Department of Public Health said.

  

Five attacks occurred around the intersection of Sutro Avenue and Vineyard Road, Marin Humane Society spokeswoman Lisa Bloch said.

  

A squirrel ran up to the victims, crawled up their bodies and bit the victims in the arms, legs, hands or head, and there have been reports the squirrel jumped out of a tree and attacked the victims, Bloch said.

  

The victims include a child and a teacher at the Pleasant Valley Elementary School and a person in a garage. The other people were bit or scratched outdoors, Bloch said.

  

Marin County Deputy Public Health Officer Dr. Lisa Santora said those who were bitten received three rabies shots as a precaution even though the likelihood of a squirrel having rabies is extremely low.

  

Santora said if the squirrel that attacked the person on Nov. 13 had rabies, it would have died by Nov. 27.

  

Officials believe the lone squirrel was hand-raised and lost its fear of humans, Bloch said.

  

Bloch urged residents not to feed wildlife and to reduce their homes' and gardens' attractiveness by removing bird feeders and cutting back trees that hang over roofs or are close to telephone lines.

  

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An 88-year-old Hamden, Connecticut Woman Who Opened Her Sliding Door to Let in Her Cat Was Attacked by a Raccoon

An 88-year-old Hamden woman who opened her sliding door to let in her cat was attacked when the animal she was petting turned out to be a raccoon.

The woman had opened the door of her Brinsmade Road home at 11 p.m. Sunday after hearing a sound to let in her cat, but unbeknownst to her, a raccoon followed her cat inside, police said.

The raccoon attacked her while she petted it, thinking it was her cat, and it bit her elbow, hand, forearm, lip and chin, police said.

"She's a tough old bird," said the victim's son, Malcolm McKernan. "She fought it off and was able to call on the phone. That's pretty remarkable."

Police said the raccoon charged at two officers when they arrived on scene. They were able to get it outside, where the animal was euthanized.

Hamden's Animal Control Division took the raccoon to the Connecticut Public Health Laboratory to be tested for rabies.

The victim was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, and she was treated and released.
She received a round of rabies shots just in case, and McKernan said they should receive the test results within the next day or so.

The victim spoke to NBC Connecticut at her home Monday and said she was doing well.





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