Police report that a 84 year-old Town of Savannah man was attacked by  what he believed was a wild dog on Monday (7/1) afternoon on Cotton Road.

The animal first attacked Richard Rising’s wife at the end of their driveway, then turned and attacked him.  Rising was able  to get the upper hand in the battle and choked the animal to death. He then called authorities.

When police arrived they identified the animal as a fox. Both  Richard and his wife were bitten and received injuries in the attacks and taken to Newark-Wayne hospital.

New York State Department of Health officials arrived on scene and took the body of the fox.  According to Wayne County Department of Health Rabies Program Director Verinica Lafave-Boughton, the dead animal’s head was sent to the State on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday the results  showed that the fox indeed tested positive for rabies.

Even before the confirmed test was reported, Lafave-Boughton, according to procedures, ordered the elderly couple the first of a series of Postexposure Prophylaxis (PEP), which consists of a dose of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and rabies vaccine given on the day of the rabies exposure, usually at the site of a bite, or wound. A dose of vaccine is given again on days 3, 7, and 14, usually in the arms.

For people who have never been vaccinated against rabies previously, postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) should always include administration of both HRIG and rabies vaccine. The combination of HRIG and vaccine is recommended for both bite and non-bite exposures, regardless of the interval between exposure and initiation of treatment.

People cannot transmit rabies to other people unless they themselves are sick with rabies. PEP will protect you from developing rabies, and therefore you cannot expose other people to rabies.

Verinica Lafave-Boughton stated that with her own possible exposures in the job, she opted to be vaccinated.

Vaccination of dogs, ferrets, and livestock can be started at no sooner than three months of age. Some cat vaccines can be given as early as two months of age. Regardless of the age of the animal at initial vaccination, a booster vaccination should be administered one year later.

According to the Wayne County Department of Health, animal control officers have spoken to neighbors about watching their pets and calling if there are any signs of attitude or behavioral changes.