A Sequoyah County sheriff’s deputy says he was attacked by a fox while responding to a domestic disturbance call last week.
“Once on the scene, entered the home, we realized that there was a fox loose in the house,” said Deputy Dwayne Frizzell.
Frizzell came face to face with the animal.
“When I went in the bedroom, turned around, it just was at a dead run and it started at my feet and crawled all the way up to my chest to my throat,” he said.
Frizzell went to the hospital with some scratches, but no bites.
“It went up to my throat, tore a couple holes in my shirt, and at that time I had to forcibly take the fox off of me,” he said.
The fox’s name is Roxie. She will stay at the Sallisaw Veterinary Clinic for a 10 day rabies quarantine period.
“She's gentle. She was hand raised,” said Dr. Gary Cox, a veterinarian.
Cox says Roxie is about four months old. She was bottle raised and never outside.
“I'm trying to feed her things that she's gonna encounter in the wild, like a sparrow,” said Cox.
Deputies say the lady who owned Roxie had a permit from the state that expired. Frizzell warns people to watch out for fox.
“We deal with a lot of people who you think would do more damage that what a fox would do, but the fox is the one that sent me to the hospital,” said Frizzell.
Cox says he will keep Roxie after the quarantine period expires and get her ready for the wild.