Mass. woman getting rabies shots after apparent coyote attack

A coyote seemed to attack a Dartmouth resident over the weekend, WPRI reported.

Kathy Normore told the station she was outside her house when a coyote hidden in nearby grass jumped out and bit her. 

“It just latched onto my arm,” she said to WPRI. “It was instantaneous.” 

After the coyote ran off, Normore said, she went to a local hospital and got 15 rabies shots. She told WPRI she received an extra seven shots on Tuesday, and has to keep checking in at the hospital for the next few weeks. Normore described the process as “not fun.”

“I’ve been sick since my first round of shots and I don’t want anyone else to go through this,” she said to WPRI.

She encouraged her neighbors to remain vigilant and stay aware of their surroundings. Dartmouth Director of Public Health Christopher Michaud agreed with Normore. He did not confirm or deny if the incident she described to WPRI happened, but said Dartmouth residents should avoid all contact with wildlife. 

“Any contact with wildlife, particularly mammalian wildlife, is always discouraged. We should not be feeding raccoons by throwing bread on our lawn,” he said. “You should not be feeding wildlife. We have to be very aware of making our property unattractive to wildlife.”

He said if someone encounters a coyote, they should scream at the animal to scare it off and call animal control. Even banging pots and pans could be helpful to scare a coyote away, Michaud said. However, he warned residents against chasing coyotes so as not to provoke them.

Dartmouth Animal Control did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MassWildlife said if you see a coyote in your area, you should automatically put your pets on leashes, remove any potential food sources for wild animals, and eliminate shelter spaces.