A Georgia resident named DeDe Phillips had an unpleasant encounter with a wild animal.
A rabid bobcat entered her front yard and attacked her while she was doing yard work. The woman, however, did not allow herself to be taken by surprise, maintained her composure, and immediately went into defense mode.
With a few swift moves, she was able to tackle the animal to the ground and started trying to strangle it to maintain her safety.
Once the animal had stopped moving, Phillips called out to her daughter-in-law and asked her to call 911.
She was not left entirely unscathed by the attack, however, as she suffered multiple minor wounds as well as a broken finger. Adding to her trouble, the animal was identified as rabid, requiring her to undergo a full course of rabies shots.
The disease is very unforgiving, and if not treated within a short period after an infection, it can become fatal with no treatment known to modern medicine.
However, because symptoms do not become apparent until late into the dangerous stage, the standard procedure in situations like this is to go through a full treatment course to stay on the safe side.
Luckily for Phillips, her father-in-law is a trapper who actually specialized in bobcats, so she knew what she was dealing with, and knew that she had to act quickly to avoid any severe damage to her body.
The woman explained that the main priority in a bobcat attack is to protect one’s neck, as the animal’s preferred method of killing its victims is to sever their jugular vein.
Phillips told OnlineAthens, “They go for your jugular, [B]ecause when they can get the vein you’re dead in a couple of minutes.”
“I thought, ‘Not today. There was no way I was going to die, she added.”
