Rabid Raccoon Attacks Woman In Her Bed

A 73-year-old woman is recovering at home after being mauled by a rabid raccoon in her own bed.

Ginny Ballou, from Hingham, Massachusetts, told local WBZ-TV that the raccoon managed to get into her house through a pet door on her back porch.

The woman, who did not want to show her face, said: "It's something I'll never forget. It was that scary."

She said she was asleep when the animal jumped on her face.

"At first, I thought it was my cat. But then it bit my lip and chin, and it latched on and it wouldn't let go," she said.

Ms Ballou said she struggled with the animal for nearly two minutes, until finally she hit it with a phone by the bed, got it out of the room, and called police.

The animal was caught and tests showed it had rabies. It was later euthanised.

Ms Ballou was wounded not just in her face but also in her thumbs and arms. She was treated at the hospital and has started getting rabies shots.

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