Dartmouth Woman Attacked by Coyote and Actively Being Treated for Rabies

A Dartmouth woman endured a traumatic experience on Saturday when a coyote attacked her while she was retrieving her mail.

Kathy Brightman spoke to Michael and Maddie about the scary moment and hopes to put the town on high alert after the hospital confirmed she was exposed to rabies.

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“It was Saturday afternoon, I was walking to go get the mail, and something caught the corner of my eye right behind the stone wall,” recounted Brightman. “As I turned, a coyote came out and just attacked.”

According to Brightman, the coyote was about ten feet away when it attacked, unprovoked, and latched onto her forearm.

“I kicked (the coyote) twice with my left leg and ripped my arm out the second time I kicked it, and it ran down the street behind my neighbor’s house,” she said. “It was the size of a German shepherd.”

After calling animal control and the Dartmouth Police Department, Brightman rushed to Tobey Hospital for assistance, where the medical team confirmed that Brightman had been exposed to rabies.

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“People in this town need to know,” she said. “(The town) needs to alert people in this town that, because we are building so much, that coyotes are more populated around people.”

Brightman is currently being treated with the rabies vaccine.

Rabies is a viral disease that affects the brain and spinal cord of mammals that can spread from an infected animal to a person.

In people, the disease can be prevented by getting vaccinated after exposure; otherwise, the disease is fatal.

Rabies Protocol in Massachusetts

According to the Mass Department of Public Health, you cannot tell if an animal has rabies just by looking at it, however, a rabid animal may act strangely and may aggressively attack people or other animals.

If you think you have been exposed to rabies, wash the wound with soap and water immediately for ten minutes, call your health care provider, and call the local animal control officer to inform them of the rabid animal.