Westside Tucson woman recounts being attacked by suspected rabid fox | News

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) — A Tucson woman is still recovering from getting bit by a possibly rabid fox last Friday and recounts the terrifying attack.

Shaky cell phone video taken by Leanne Burgess does not show the fox lunging at her but you can hear what is believed to be the fox.

“I mean it all lasted for about a minute,” said Leanne Burgess, a westside Tucson resident. 

Leanne says she was inside working from home around noon Friday and noticed a fox in her backyard near Corte Lindo Cielo and Goret road. Her dog was also outside.

“I didn’t want him (my dog) to try to play with it (the fox). I went out the door just thinking as soon as I stepped outside the fox would be gone,” Leanne said. 

But it was not, Leanne says the fox ended up biting her leg and the palm of her hand. 

“I ended up having to kind of like grab his collar, neck like a cat and then like squeeze as hard as I can to get him to let go,” Leanne said. 

The fox did end up letting Leanne go.

“So I had to take him over to the back fence and just throw him over to create space and I just ran back inside,” Leanne said. 

But by the time the Arizona Game and Fish department showed up, the fox was long gone. 

“It was super freaky when she called, like obviously panicked, hyperventilating,” said Ryne Burgess, Leanne’s husband. 

Ryne says he was not home at the time since he and his two kids were in Oregon visiting relatives. 

“I was like ‘do you want me to call some neighbors or something?’ and she’s like ‘no I think I can drive to the hospital’ and so she got there and then her parents were able to meet her there,” Ryne said. 

Arizona Game and Fish believe the fox that attacked Leanne is dead, the department says so far this year 38 animals in Pima County tested positive for rabies.

Leanne says her family sees all kinds of wildlife in her backyard and has never gone through this. 

“That’s the first time we’ve ever had any sort of problems but we’re definitely going to learn from it,” Leanne said.

Leanne says she still has to take two more rabies shots in case the fox did indeed have rabies. 

If you ever see an animal that looks sick call Arizona Game and Fish at 520-623-2701.