TOPSHAM, Maine — Topsham police were called to Mallett Drive Sunday morning for a report that a fox charged a woman while she was gardening in her yard.
The report marks at least the third such Topsham incident in recent weeks. Two dogs have also been bitten by a fix, town officials say.
The 37-year-old woman told police she was kneeling in her garden Sunday morning when the fox ran up to her, and she grabbed it to keep it away from her, Topsham Police Chief Marc Hagan said.
The first officer to arrive took the fox from the woman, and a second officer shot and killed it, Hagan said.
The woman said she wasn't bitten or scratched, but a Maine game warden told police he would send the remains to the state lab in Augusta to be tested for rabies.
Topsham Animal Control Officer Mark McDonald said Monday that two foxes have been killed following three or four incidents in recent weeks. In addition, two dogs were bitten by a fox that has not yet been located, he said.
The incident occurred just 10 days after a Brunswick woman was bitten by a fox as she sat on her deck.
Kimberly Bashant was smoking on her deck on March 26 when the animal came up the stairs and bit her leg. The Times Record reported that Bashant hit the fox with a baseball bat, knocking it out. Her neighbors heard her yell and killed the aminal.