Originally published July 6, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified July 6, 2007 at 2:03 AM
5-year-old wrestles rabid fox in North Carolina
A 5-year-old boy grabbed a rabid fox by the neck and pinned it to the ground during a family cookout, protecting six other children before...
KINGSTOWN, N.C. — A 5-year-old boy grabbed a rabid fox by the neck and pinned it to the ground during a family cookout, protecting six other children before his stepfather could kill the animal.
"I wanted to protect my little brother," said Rayshun McDowell, who battled the fox in the front yard of his home Sunday in Kingstown, about 50 miles west of Charlotte.
The fox bit Rayshun in the leg, but the boy held the animal down for more than a minute. Animal control officials said Tuesday that test results confirmed the fox had rabies, which is fatal unless treated before symptoms appear. Rayshun is undergoing treatment.
"I looked out the window, and Rayshun had the fox by the neck and was pushing it into the ground," said his mother, Shinda Linder. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing."
Rayshun's stepfather, Ryan Thompson, pulled the boy off the animal and kicked it. A neighbor fired a handgun three times but the fox continued to advance.
Thompson, wearing a cast because of a broken leg, said he used a stick and his crutch to beat the fox to death.
Rayshun, meanwhile, asked only for a Band-Aid and didn't complain of any pain.
"Rayshun was really calm and wasn't upset," his mother said. "I couldn't believe he would do something like that. He was so brave, and I was a wreck."
Rabies attacks the nervous system and is transmitted through saliva. It often makes animals aggressive. A 6-year-old girl who was attacked by a fox the same day at her home nearby also is being treated.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
Awaiting daughter's birth, astronaut busy on spacewalk
Anti-Taliban militias arise in Afghanistan
China coal mine blast death toll jumps to 87
Iran gets ready for military exercises

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Tugboat sinks on Seattle's waterfront
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Italian lead prosecutor argues Knox motive was hatred
- Italian prosecutors request life sentence for UW student
- Man shot in chest on E. Union Street in Capitol Hill
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Mariners Blog | A Mariners-Tigers swap makes a whole lot of sense for both teams
- Senate vote clears hurdle
239 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
124 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
121 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
119 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
119 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Prosecutor requests life in prison for Amanda Knox
89 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
55 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
48
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Nonprofits get creative using Twitter and Facebook to make donation easier
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
- Great places to cross-country ski for free (or almost) in the Methow
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Recipes: Sesame Pork Roast, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce and more
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- 175 foster kids in Washington get 'forever families'





