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A police officer from Meredith, New Hampshire, shot and killed a rabid fox after attacking a four-year-old boy on Saturday.
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The boy, whose name was not disclosed, was playing in front of the Redgate Village Apartments with other children around 1:30 pm. when the fox attacked him.
The boy's parents took him to the Lakes Regional General Hospital for the treatment of arm and leg injuries, Police Sergeant Meredith. Phil McLaughlin said.
"It was a pretty scary thing for parents and the child," McLaughlin said.
Someone called the police after spotting the fox acting "aggressively," said McLaughlin.
Joe Canfield, a conservation officer with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Service, also responded to the scene and said the fox was probably enraged because of his off-duty behavior.
"This particular species, the gray fox, usually becomes aggressive when it has rabies," Canfield said.
Canfield said that the gray fox usually stands apart from humans, and when they start acting strangely, it usually means that they will be tested positive for rabies.
After attacking the boy, the fox ran into the woods, prompting a four-hour search.
Around 9:30 pm On the same day, the fox was sighted near Water Street, where a man told officer Will Goulet that he was hiding under his car and that he had been trying to get him bite your leg. The man was not injured.
Officers McLaughlin and Goulet pursued the fox in the woods, where he attempted to attack Goulet. He was then able to bypass the animal, pulling it and killing it.
"Everything was very fast," said McLaughlin. "We are lucky that he was able to see him and he was not hurt."
Officers bagged the carcass and brought it to the station, where Canfield picked it up on Sunday morning for rabies testing.
Because the fox has been tested positive, both the child and the man are currently being treated for rabies.
Canfield described the gray fox as being the size of a small dog and weighing about 10 pounds.
"Although it's not very common, we've seen them attack in New Hampshire, it's happening," said Canfield.
© 2018 Cox Media Group.
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