On Saturday evening, February 21, Woodcreek resident Linda Kaye Rogers heard a noise outside in her yard. As she stepped from her porch to investigate, a fox charged her and she fell, fracturing her shoulder and a rib, as the fox attacked her and bit her leg. According to Rogers, she kicked forcefully at the animal to drive it off and it retreated into the yard.
Rogers called 911. Wimberley EMS, Wimberley Fire and Rescue, and a Hays County Sheriff’s deputy responded. Not long afterward, the fox charged again while first responders were on the scene and it was shot and killed by the deputy. In the confusion, says Rogers, apparently a call to the Hays County Animal Control’s emergency number was not made.
Animal Control is normally staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., however they do have an emergency number for after hours, weekends and holidays.
EMS took Rogers to the emergency room at Christus Santa Rosa in San Marcos where she was given a tetanus shot and imaging of her shoulder was made, revealing a severe fracture. According to Rogers, “the report of the painful rib was not acted upon and she was not given the PEP post-rabies treatment given to patients suspected of being exposed to rabies.”
Rogers said, “Wimberley EMS informed Christus Santa Rosa emergency room staff that she had been attacked by an animal that was probably rabid, but I did not receive treatment for the exposure or the bite wound.”
On Sunday, a friend, Melissa Doss, reached out to Hays County Game Warden, Kyle Reece, who exchanged several texts with Rogers during the day. He urged her to receive the post-rabies exposure protocol immediately. A second Hays County Game Warden, Wade Pierce, removed the animal from her yard on Sunday and delivered it to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist who sent it for testing. It was later confirmed to be positive for rabies.
Following Reece’s prompting, Rogers was taken to Baptist Regional Emergency Room in New Braunfels by Doss, where doctors x-rayed the bite and began rabies post-exposure prophylaxis care, or PEP. The protocol included injections of human rabies immune globulin around the wound followed by the first injection of a four-dose vaccine.
On Monday, the Hays County Health Department reached out to Rogers. Both Rogers and Doss said, “They were very concerned and thoughtful.”
To date, Rogers has received the third of four required vaccine injections and is under the care of an orthopedic physician.
Rogers contacted Hays County Commissioner Morgan Hammer who has been involved with resolving the incident. Rogers told the Wimberley View, “I talked with Hammer about the seeming lack of communication and collaboration between county agencies.”
On February 25, four days after Rogers’ attack, a neighbor shot and killed another fox that appeared to rabid. It was picked up by Hays County Animal Control and it is being tested for rabies.
“The healing process will take about two to three months,” said Rogers. “People should be very alert about the rabies activity in the area, and prepare a plan in case they are bitten.”
Last month, the City of Woodcreek posted that a rabies outbreak among wildlife had been confirmed in Hays County. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 19 positive rabies cases at that time.
On February 26 the Hays County Sheriff’s Department posted that a skunk in the Buda area tested positive for rabies.
If you or your pet has been bitten or scratched, call 911. Contact the Hays County Health Department at 512-393-5520 immediately and consult their website, hayscountytx.gov/health-department, where valuable information for humans and pets is listed.
The number for the Hays County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Division in San Marcos is 512-393-7896.
