The attack on a young child by a raccoon last week has prompted officials in one Massachusetts community to remind people to keep a close eye on children and pets.
The warning came as Arlington Police Chief Julie Flaherty and Director of Health and Human Services Christine Bongiorno announced the raccoon tested positive for rabies.
Police were called to a home on Fountain Road on Oct. 14 around 4:15 p.m. for a report that a young child had been bitten by an animal, police said.
When officers arrived, they saw the child, who was under the age of 5, was being placed into an ambulance and given medical care by members of the Arlington Fire Department with the child’s mother.
“An on-scene investigation determined that the child was in the backyard of the family’s home and was attacked by a large raccoon,” authorities said. “The child’s mother stopped the attack and was able to chase the animal away and called 911. The child suffered bites and scratches from the raccoon.”
The child was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and is expected to be fine.
Officers were unable to find the raccoon involved in the attack on the child in their initial search.
Just over an hour later, officers located a raccoon that was acting “lethargic” and believed it was the animal that attacked the child.
Additional officers responded to the area and the raccoon was humanely euthanized.
The Arlington Animal Control Officer subsequently responded to the scene, collected the animal and brought it to a state testing site to be tested for rabies. The Arlington Department of Health and Human Services was notified by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that they had confirmed that the raccoon had tested positive for rabies, authorities said.
“While we do not believe there is any current danger to the community, we wanted to notify residents about this incident so they can be vigilant about protecting their loved ones and pets,” Flaherty said. “Our thoughts go out to the family and the young child who had to suffer this horrific ordeal.”