Five-Year-Old Boy Saves Six Children From Rabid Fox

By Anastacia Mott Austin

The next time you need a quick-thinking hero, think of five-year-old Rayshun McDowell. The Kingstown, North Carolina boy was at a family picnic on Sunday when a rabid fox ran toward a group of children in the front yard.

Rayshun held down the fox by the neck while his little brother and the other children ran away. Rayshun, who weighs 61 pounds, held the fox for over a minute, even after it bit him on the leg.

His mother, Shinda Linder, told reporters at The Charlotte Observer, "I looked out the window and Rayshun had the fox by the neck and was pushing it into the ground. [He] was really calm and wasn’t upset. I couldn’t believe he would do something like that."

Rayshun’s stepfather, Ryan Thompson, came to the boy’s aid by killing the fox with a stick, after a neighbor failed to kill it with three shots from a handgun.

Unfortunately, the fox later tested positive for rabies. Cleveland County health department representative Sam Lockridge confirmed the rabies diagnosis and stated that Rayshun was undergoing treatment.

"He’s a tough kid," said Rayshun’s grandmother Sarah Linder to reporters. "He was complaining more about the shot for rabies than he did about getting bit by a fox." Though no longer the painful process that it once was, rabies treatment still consists of a dose of rabies immune globulin at the wound site, followed by five more shots over the next 28 days.

Health officials said that the fox was the 15th case of rabies found this year in Cleveland County, an increase over last year. Several surrounding counties also reported higher cases of rabies. Lockridge stated that the reason was likely expanding development into animals’ natural territory.

A six-year-old girl who lives near Rayshun is also being treated after being attacked by a fox, although officials do not know if it was the same fox.

Rabies is transmitted through the saliva of infected animals. A neurological virus, rabies infects nerve cells and travels along the pathways of the central nervous system to the brain, where it causes encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain. Almost always fatal in humans who contract the disease, it is easily preventable with proper treatment, even after a bite from an infected animal.

The virus can affect the part of the brain that controls aggression, so infected animals may attack even when unprovoked.

"I definitely wouldn’t advise anyone else to react the way the young boy did, because of the dangers," said Lockridge to reporters. "But that shows a lot of heart, and it’s a good thing he reacted that way and helped those children."

Lockridge further advised that as a precaution, people should always keep their distance from wild animals and keep their pets away as well, especially in the summer when rabies is more common. People noticing any strange behavior from animals, such as foaming at the mouth or unusual aggression, should contact their local animal control department immediately.

As for Rayshun and his family, they’re just glad everyone is okay, and amazed at the boy’s heroic behavior.

Said his mother, "He was so brave, and I was a wreck."

When asked why he acted the way he did, Rayshun told reporters he was just trying to protect his two-year-old brother Ryan.

"I knew he needed help. I just did it."