Va. Beach residents on the lookout after rabid fox attack

VIRGINIA BEACH

When Shirley Marlow noticed a small, red animal peeking through the bushes in her flower garden several weeks ago, she thought, "that is one strange-looking dog."

Then she realized she was sharing her garden with a fox.

She looked into having the creature removed but didn't find many options. But after a rabid fox attacked three people in the Mount Trashmore area this week, she's looking into other techniques.

Fox encounters are becoming increasingly common in the city as their numbers grow and development encroaches on their homes, said Animal Control Supervisor Steve Snyder, who oversees the department's Animal Enforcement Unit. But they don't tend to carry rabies as often as such animals as raccoons and opossums, he said.

"Foxes have gotten very prevalent in the area. They've gotten very acclimated to being around humans," Snyder said. "But we don't get a lot of complaints about it."

The Mount Trashmore fox was the first to test positive for rabies here this year, said Erin Sutton, environmental health manager for the Virginia Beach Department of Public Health. Last year, there were two.

The creature was first reported Wednesday after it jumped out of the woods lining a walking trail and bit a man in the foot, Snyder said. Animal Control searched for the fox but was unable to find it.

The next morning, it struck again as two people were getting out of a vehicle at the Lakeview Corporate Park nearby. The fox bit one person and bit or scratched another before they struck it with a stick, incapacitating it, Sutton said.

The animal tested positive for rabies, and all three people started treatment - a series of four shots. There haven't been any reports of the virus spreading to humans or pets.

Last year, five raccoons and two foxes tested positive for rabies, Sutton said. This year is catching up, with five rabid raccoons and one rabid fox.

The city lends out non-lethal traps for such animals as cats and opossums but only has two or three designed for foxes, Snyder said. They're usually reserved for such cases as the Mount Trashmore bites this week, he said.

The best thing people can do is cover their trash cans, take pet food inside and vaccinate their animals, Sutton said.

Marlow spent Friday afternoon in the library doing research and plans to install wind chimes or scarecrows in an attempt to frighten off her garden fox. She said her neighbors on and around West Little Neck Road have also spotted foxes in their driveways and by their pools.

"I just don't know what to do," Marlow said. "I'm 83 years old. I don't exactly want to take on trapping a fox at my age."

She said she sympathizes with the creature but wants it to relocate.

"He was so skinny, I felt like I should go to Hardee's and buy him a hamburger," she said. "I just want them to go someplace else."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com

To report a wild animal in Virginia Beach, call Animal Control at 385-4444, extension 1.

To report rabies exposure in Virginia Beach, call the city health department at (757) 518-2646.

Tips to avoid rabies exposure:

• Eliminate outdoor food sources – put a lid on trash cans. Take pet food inside. Place bird food in a feeder inaccessible to wild animals.
• Avoid contact with wild or stray animals – Report stray animals to Animal Control. Keep pets confined to your property.
• Vaccinate all pets against rabies.

Source: City of Virginia Beach

Some signs of rabies in animals:

• Daytime activity by nocturnal creatures
• Elusive, strange or aggressive behavior
• Drooling or foaming from the mouth

Source: Animal Control Supervisor Steve Snyder and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries