Fox attacks Wake Forest teen

Wake Forest, N.C. — A 13-year-old boy was attacked by a fox on Monday afternoon in a wooded area in the Twin Creeks community in Wake Forest.

Jesse Frutiger said he was in the woods when the animal approached him and immediately started hissing. He said he threw a rock at the fox and that’s when the animal lunged at him.

“It actually jumps through two trees and latches onto my hand and it’s just sitting there, biting my hand,” Frutiger said of the incident.

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Wake Forest teen bit by fox

Frutiger says he managed to kick the fox away, but not before he was bitten on his hand and upper leg.

Frutiger’s family believes the animal was a silver or gray fox.

Jesse's mom, Erika Frutiger, said it wasn't the first fight that day with the animal. The family dog, Bella, was the first victim.

Erika Frutiger said she saw the fox and the dog in the grass fighting.

Jesse Frutiger is now receiving a series of nine shots because the family wasn't sure if the fox was rabid. Bella received a rabies booster shot.

And as for walks in the woods, the Frutigers stick together and won't stray too far from home.

“We don’t let the dog run anymore. We don’t go back there ourselves,” Erika Frutiger said.

Wake County Animal Control said it doesn't receive many fox calls, though there has been a slight increase this year.

In July, a Raleigh man was attacked by a rabid fox along Chesterfield Road. Scott Thompson said he had to fight the animal off with a bat.

Though he was not scratched or bitten, Thompson still had to get shots to be safe.

Earlier that same day, a dog just down the road was chased by a strange acting fox.

Wildlife officials say if you see an animal you think is sick, call your local animal control.