Post by Woody Williams on Oct 9, 2005 12:08:27 GMT -5
Grandpa lives to tell tale of wrestling wild coyote
By Lisa Gentes/ MetroWest Daily News
Friday, October 7, 2005 - Updated: 03:21 AM EST
(Attack occured yesterday)
With his face pushed into a crazed coyote's fur, an exhausted Arthur Cole kept telling himself ``don't let go.''
The strapping Northboro grandfather used all his weight to keep the thrashing animal pinned so his 4-year-old grandson, Nicholas, could run for his life.
Yesterday, a stitched-up Cole told of his half-hour man vs. beast bout Wednesday with a 40-pound female coyote. Cole's wild confrontation is only the third reported coyote attack on a human in the state's history.
And it all happened in a flash.
``She came running toward me at top speed and ran for my throat,'' said the 76-year-old Cole.
When the animal was in mid-air, he tried to grab her throat, but instead caught hold of her tail and fell to the ground, he said.
``I fell on top of her and was heavy enough to hold her down,'' Cole said.
``As soon as Nicholas saw the coyote immobilized, he asked me if he should get help, and I said, `Yes, run!' '' the grandfather of six said.
``He ran all the way back to my house and got (his dad) Peter,'' Cole said. When help arrived, they choked the coyote to death even as the brave grandfather held on tight.
Cole had been hiking a nature trail behind his housing development by the Assabet River with his grandson when the beast pounced.
The lifelong Northboro resident sustained eight bites during the 4:30 p.m. assault, according to police. Cole was treated and released Wednesday night from Marlboro Hospital.
Yesterday, he recalled his hike-turned-ambush as he rocked on a chair on his front porch.
Cole said he won't give up on hiking altogether, but only with another person and ``only with a weapon,'' he said.
Results of a rabies test on the coyote are expected to return today. The state Department of Public Health in Jamaica Plan is performing the testing.
NOW - THE REST OF THE STORY….
Crazed coyote that attacked grandfather was rabid [/b]
By Carolyn Kessel Stewart/ Metrowest Daily News
Saturday, October 8, 2005
A coyote that attacked a Northboro man walking a nature trail with his grandson has tested positive for rabies.
The state Department of Public Health announced the results yesterday, and the 76-year-old grandfather immediately went for his first vaccination shot.
``I'm not worried,'' said Arthur Cole, who was bitten multiple times on his face, arms and legs Wednesday by the female coyote.
The five doses of rabies vaccine he will receive over the next month are painless and practically guaranteed to halt development of the disease. No one in this country who has received the proper treatment has been known to develop the fatal disease, according to the Department of Public Health.
Besides the weekly shots he must now undergo, immediately after the attack Cole was injected with more than a dozen doses of rabies immune globulin in his wounds.
``The treatment in the emergency room was very painful,'' he said. ``It was awful.''
The coyote is the eighth to test positive for rabies in the state since 1992, said Donna Rheaume, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health.
Rabies is a disease of the brain and spinal cord caused by a virus, which can be spread when infected animals bite or scratch. It can also be transmitted if saliva from an infected animal touches broken skin, open wounds or the lining of the mouth, nose or eyes.
The grandfather threw himself at the coyote to protect his 4-year-old grandson. The boy was never touched.
By Lisa Gentes/ MetroWest Daily News
Friday, October 7, 2005 - Updated: 03:21 AM EST
(Attack occured yesterday)
With his face pushed into a crazed coyote's fur, an exhausted Arthur Cole kept telling himself ``don't let go.''
The strapping Northboro grandfather used all his weight to keep the thrashing animal pinned so his 4-year-old grandson, Nicholas, could run for his life.
Yesterday, a stitched-up Cole told of his half-hour man vs. beast bout Wednesday with a 40-pound female coyote. Cole's wild confrontation is only the third reported coyote attack on a human in the state's history.
And it all happened in a flash.
``She came running toward me at top speed and ran for my throat,'' said the 76-year-old Cole.
When the animal was in mid-air, he tried to grab her throat, but instead caught hold of her tail and fell to the ground, he said.
``I fell on top of her and was heavy enough to hold her down,'' Cole said.
``As soon as Nicholas saw the coyote immobilized, he asked me if he should get help, and I said, `Yes, run!' '' the grandfather of six said.
``He ran all the way back to my house and got (his dad) Peter,'' Cole said. When help arrived, they choked the coyote to death even as the brave grandfather held on tight.
Cole had been hiking a nature trail behind his housing development by the Assabet River with his grandson when the beast pounced.
The lifelong Northboro resident sustained eight bites during the 4:30 p.m. assault, according to police. Cole was treated and released Wednesday night from Marlboro Hospital.
Yesterday, he recalled his hike-turned-ambush as he rocked on a chair on his front porch.
Cole said he won't give up on hiking altogether, but only with another person and ``only with a weapon,'' he said.
Results of a rabies test on the coyote are expected to return today. The state Department of Public Health in Jamaica Plan is performing the testing.
NOW - THE REST OF THE STORY….
Crazed coyote that attacked grandfather was rabid [/b]
By Carolyn Kessel Stewart/ Metrowest Daily News
Saturday, October 8, 2005
A coyote that attacked a Northboro man walking a nature trail with his grandson has tested positive for rabies.
The state Department of Public Health announced the results yesterday, and the 76-year-old grandfather immediately went for his first vaccination shot.
``I'm not worried,'' said Arthur Cole, who was bitten multiple times on his face, arms and legs Wednesday by the female coyote.
The five doses of rabies vaccine he will receive over the next month are painless and practically guaranteed to halt development of the disease. No one in this country who has received the proper treatment has been known to develop the fatal disease, according to the Department of Public Health.
Besides the weekly shots he must now undergo, immediately after the attack Cole was injected with more than a dozen doses of rabies immune globulin in his wounds.
``The treatment in the emergency room was very painful,'' he said. ``It was awful.''
The coyote is the eighth to test positive for rabies in the state since 1992, said Donna Rheaume, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health.
Rabies is a disease of the brain and spinal cord caused by a virus, which can be spread when infected animals bite or scratch. It can also be transmitted if saliva from an infected animal touches broken skin, open wounds or the lining of the mouth, nose or eyes.
The grandfather threw himself at the coyote to protect his 4-year-old grandson. The boy was never touched.
and I did my best to get it with the xbow with no success. They called the dnr and they trapped it a week later so the claim. Must have as I only caught glimpses of the other one after that. Was not a mateing pair.