The raccoon attacked Ani DiPasquale on Wednesday afternoon while she was on her back porch, biting her hand, back and ankle, 12 News New Jersey reported. A neighbor chased off the raccoon with a shovel. DiPasquale was taken to a hospital and given rabies shots.
Raccoon Attack! This woman, 83-year-old Audrey DiPasquale, was seriously hurt when a raccoon charged and attacked her in Belmar yesterday. @News12NJ @TheMCSPCA pic.twitter.com/oRIJh5FiCs
— Jim Murdoch News12NJ (@ReporterJim) January 17, 2019
Officials believe the same raccoon bit a dog around 3 p.m. Thursday before it was captured, NJ.com reported. The dog was taken to a veterinarian and appeared to be OK.
Lab tests will determine if the raccoon had rabies or any other diseases.
An outbreak of canine distemper, which has symptoms similar to those of rabies, killed nearly 45 raccoons in October in Ocean County.
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