Aug. 22--FLORENCE, S.C. -- A Florence woman who was attacked by a squirrel this weekend said she is still emotionally shaken by the incident but is healing well.
Joyce Linton said on Saturday she was in the front yard of her Windsor Drive home in the Sandhurst subdivision with her daughter and grandchildren when a squirrel attacked her.
"I was out there showing my 5-year-old grandson an ants nest and telling him to be careful not to step in it," Linton said.
"I walked under the big tree we have out there and all of a sudden, this squirrel comes at me and grabs onto my leg like a cat," she said. "I started screaming and shaking my leg, trying to get it off of me. I was screaming to my daughter to get the children inside. I fell to the ground then finally got it off and went running toward the door, and it started chasing me. I don't know why it came after me. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary."
Linton said she took her shoe off to beat it away and was able to escape into her house. Once inside, she told her husband what happened. He went out the front door to inspect the situation, and the squirrel charged up the steps to the porch.
"He came at my husband like, 'You want some, too?' It was crazy. I've never seen anything like it," Linton said.
Linton's husband threw a rock at the squirrel but it didn't budge. It just sat and stared at him. Finally, after he threw a second rock, the squirrel scurried up the tree. By that time, Linton was on the phone with the police.
Linton was bitten and scratched on the back of her thigh. She was treated at a local hospital. Meanwhile, officers with the Florence Police Department and Department of Natural Resources were at her house, dealing with the squirrel that attacked her.
"The officers shot the squirrel, and it was sent to environmental services to be tested for rabies and other diseases," Florence Police Maj. Carlos Raines said.
Raines said squirrel attacks are definitely not a typical occurrence in Florence.
"It's the first time that I'm aware of an attack of this nature," Raines said. "It's definitely not something that happens every day, but it should still be taken seriously because squirrels can carry disease."
Fortunately, Linton said, officials with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control notified her Tuesday that the squirrel that bit her tested negative for rabies.
"That was definitely a relief," Linton said. "I was glad to get that news."
With the good news in hand, Linton said she feels better about the situation but is still a bit apprehensive about squirrels.
"I'm not going to let it scare me too bad," she said. "I'm still a little nervous when I see one, but it's getting better. It's just one of those crazy things you don't think would ever happen. I'm not going to let this make me crazy, but I'll probably be a little more cautious around them."
Copyright 2012 - Florence Morning News, S.C.
