Health officials identified and interviewed two men who rescued a young girl who was being attacked by a rabid raccoon in Gladwyne Thursday.
The young girl was walking home from school Thursday around 4 p.m. through a wooded area on the Bridlewild Trail near Dodds Lane when a raccoon began to attack her. James Myers and Rick Turnbull, both of North Philadelphia, happened to in the area at the time. Both men ran towards the girl.
“One apparently stood on the animal’s tail while the other beat the raccoon with a hockey stick until it let go of the girl’s leg,” said Julie Paoline, director of the Montgomery County Health Department’s Division of Communicable Disease Control.
After rescuing the girl, the men drove her home to her parents before letting anyone know their identity. The girl was taken to the hospital that night and received rabies shots.
The raccoon was later captured by Lower Merion animal control officers and tested positive for rabies. Health officials then used social media and media outlets to reach out to the two men, fearing that they may have been exposed to rabies. Myers came forward and spoke with health officials Saturday while Turnbull spoke with them Sunday. Both men confirmed they never came in contact with the animal’s saliva, making them safe from contracting rabies.
