Zebulon, N.C. — Protecting her children was all Kristie Burden could think of last Thursday when a rabid fox went after her children at Wakelon School Park in Zebulon.

"My screams didn't scare him. He knew he wanted us," Burden said Monday. "He wasn't going to get my girls."

Burden's 5-year-old daughter had just finished up her T-ball game, and the two, along with 2-year-old Kasey, were making a quick pit stop at the restroom before heading home.

That's when, she says, she spotted the fox, which looked like it had been hit by a car and was missing half of its head.

It headed straight for Burden and her girls.

"It just happened so fast. It was a terrifying experience," she said. "I pushed Kailey behind me, and I tripped over her and fell."

She fell on top of Kailey, breaking her daughter's collar bone.

Despite the screaming, the fox didn't retreat.

"Trying to get on my knees, I ended up grabbing the fox by the foot and threw him," Burden said. "By then, all the parents were running to help us."

Burden says her husband ran over and kicked the fox. Another parent grabbed a baseball bat and killed the animal.

"We just praise God we weren't bitten, because he did check out positive," she said.

Burden says the animal did scratch her. Kasey was unharmed, and Kailey's now wearing a sling to help her collar bone heal.

As a precaution, the three are undergoing treatment for rabies exposure.

So far, they have finished two rounds of rabies vaccine and have two more to go.