Woman Opens Door to 'a Giant Ball of Viciousness'

A Massachusetts woman's late-night encounter with an aggressive assailant left her bloodied—and in need of rabies treatment. Katharine VanBuskirk, 69, says she was attacked by a relentless raccoon outside her Somerville home around 1am Saturday while letting her two dogs into the backyard, per the Boston Globe. The raccoon, which she described as "a giant ball of viciousness," reportedly lunged at her without warning, biting and scratching her face as she tried to fight it off with one arm in a sling from recent surgery. "It attacked relentlessly, from every angle," VanBuskirk recalls, leaving blood streaming down her face.

She managed to fend off the animal long enough to get inside and call 911. She was transported to a Boston-area hospital where she received antibiotics, immunoglobulin, and began a series of rabies shots. She said she'd never experienced anything similar before in her nearly 40 years in her home. Afterward, she learned a neighbor had recently seen a raccoon and four cubs nearby. Raccoons are especially active at night and in the early morning hours. VanBuskirk speculated that the raccoon may have been searching for food in a compost bin on her deck. She shared her story to warn others about the risks when letting pets outside after dark. Her dogs were unharmed.