DARTMOUTH, Mass. (WPRI) — A Dartmouth woman claims she was attacked by a rabid coyote over the weekend.

Kathy Normore told 12 News she was walking to her mailbox Saturday afternoon when the coyote emerged from a nearby patch of tall grass.

Before Normore could react, the coyote lunged forward and bit her.

“It just latched onto my arm,” Normore recalled, adding that she believed the coyote had been stalking her. “It was instantaneous.”

Normore said the coyote took off and she hasn’t seen it since, but she’s worried it will return.

“I’m very nervous,” Normore said. “I didn’t leave my house for two days.”

Though she regularly hears coyotes howling at night and knows there’s likely a pack living nearby, she has never encountered one in broad daylight.

“You rarely see them during the day, especially one that just comes out nowhere without a bark or a growl or anything,” she said.

Normore rushed to the hospital and received 15 rabies exposure shots that same day. She received another seven shots Tuesday morning and has to return two more times over the next two weeks.

“These shots are not fun,” Normore said. “I’ve been sick since my first round of shots and I don’t want anyone else to go through this.”

Normore said her doctors tested her wound and confirmed she was exposed to rabies. But there is still no definitive evidence that the coyote itself is rabid since it is still on the loose.

In the meantime, Normore is urging her neighbors to be vigilant and protect themselves from potential attacks.

“This isn’t about me, it is about protecting somebody else,” Normore said. “I just want everyone to be aware of their surroundings, whether it’s morning, noon or night.”

“It can happen to anybody,” she continued. “Coyotes are everywhere in this town.”

12 News reached out to the Dartmouth Board of Health regarding the incident but has not heard back yet.

Anyone who spots a coyote acting suspiciously is urged to contact Dartmouth Animal Control by calling (508) 910-1840 or the Dartmouth Police Department at (508) 910-173 if it’s after hours.

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