PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A woman is speaking out after, she said, a wild raccoon attacked her on her own property in Palm Beach Gardens.
Gayle Heinz said she felt a bite on her leg as soon as she opened her backyard door.
“And I step out like this, and all of a sudden I feel something on my leg biting me, and I look, and it’s this huge raccoon, and I scream, of course, and shake him off, and he runs off to the corner,” she said.
After being bitten, she said she quickly ran inside and doused her leg in peroxide. When her husband got home, they rushed to the emergency room. Her daughter then came to the home to wait for animal control.
“The raccoon had come out and come to the pool to get some water and then wandered to the end of the courtyard and spit up blood and keeled over and died,” Gayle said.
The raccoon’s body was then sent to the lab to get tested for rabies. To be safe, Gayle also opted to get vaccinated.
“It was definitely more unusual just because the animal died on its own right after the exposure,” said David Walesky of Palm Beach Animal Control. “You may see an animal acting very friendly. You may see an animal acting very aggressive. You may see an animal that is very vocal, making a lot of noises that are unexplainable.”
Fortunately, the animal tested negative for the deadly disease. Gayle says she’s relieved.
She believes the raccoon may have ingested rat poison. If not, she jokes that maybe she’s the problem.
“All of my friends were saying, ‘Oh my God, one bite of Gayle and he’s dead.'”
Experts remind everyone to keep wildlife away, ensure trash cans are secure, and ensure food is not left out in the open.
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