Great Falls Woman Recovering From Attack By Rabid Fox: Report

GREAT FALLS, VA — A former editor at the USA Today newspaper is recovering from serious injuries that she sustained in fighting off a rabid fox Tuesday on a neighborhood street, according to a media report.

Linda Kauss, 71, was on her daily walk when the fox attacked her, according to her husband, Clark Hoyt. He told WUSA-TV Channel 9 on Friday that the fox bit his wife in the arms and legs, and her wounds were so severe that she lost three pints of blood.

Kauss fled to a neighbor's house with the fox chasing after her. Eventually, the fox ran off to another house on Chesapeake Drive, about a mile away, where it attacked a cat, according to the Fairfax County police.

The residents at that home were able to subdue and trap the fox in a cage, and Fairfax County Animal Protection Police officers arrived on the scene and euthanized the animal, the police said. The cat has been quarantined, they said.

The fox tested positive for rabies, and Kauss had to be injected with the rabies vaccine, Channel 9 reported. But her husband said she's in good spirits.

Kauss is recuperating at Inova Fairfax Hospital and has a long road to recovery, according to Channel 9. She was due to undergo surgery on Friday, but could be discharged from the hospital as soon as Saturday.

Image: Fairfax County Police Department (this is not the fox that was caught and euthanized).