Dog saves woman from rabid fox attack

They say dogs are a man's best friend, and after Tuesday, Pat Bond could not agree more. Bond was walking her dog in the Pirates Cove neighbourhood when she was attacked by a fox. The fox was sent to Raleigh to be tested for rabies.  The results came back Wednesday, and the fox tested positive.

Bond's toe was bitten by the fox, but she says if it weren't for her dog, Ruby Jane, things could have been a whole lot worse.

"If Ruby Jane wasn't there and the fox was going, it probably would have bitten me more than it did," said Bond. She was walking her dog on Buccaneer Road when the fox attacked.

"Ruby Jane intercepted it and brought it to the ground," said Bond. "Then she started biting on it and thrashing it with her head." When Ruby Jane let go, the fox charged again.

"I fell backwards because I was trying to run," said Bond. "And the fox got my foot and bit me through my shoe." The fox took the shoe and disappeared into the bushes. Bond says she started screaming, hoping to attract the attention of her neighbours. Dr. Dewey Bridger happened to be driving by.

"I pulled around the corner and my neighbour was waving her arms in the road and I stopped," said Dr. Bridger. "She had lacerations in her toe and scrapes where she had fallen." He took her to the ER to be treated for rabies. Animal Control found the fox and killed it, but Bond says she is still concerned because she has seen other foxes in the neighbourhood.

"I don't want to do this again," said Bond. "And I'm concerned about the other people too." She says there are a lot of children in the neighbourhood.

-CNN