Crime & Safety

'Vicious' Raccoon Attacks Child in Bernardsville Backyard

Animal never found despite search by police and animal control officers.

A mother who said her 6-year-old daughter was subjected to an unprovoked and "vicious" attack by an aggressive raccoon in her Bernardsville backyard on Monday said she wants to warn the public about what happened.

The animal was never located, despite searches by borough police and animal control officers.

The girl was treated immediately afterward at Morristown Medical Center, and now is receiving the multi-step rabies vaccine, said her mother, Heather MacDonald of Somerset Avenue.

Find out what's happening in Bernardsville-Bedminsterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, Bernardsville's contracted animal control service, had conducted searches in the area looking for the raccoon, but had been unable to find the animal, a spokeswoman for St. Hubert's said on Wednesday afternoon.

Kim Saunders, vice president of operations and communications for St. Hubert's, said that rabies can't be proven unless the animal is located and tested. But she said that the fact that the raccoon was out during the daytime, and also so aggressive, would lead to the conclusion that it was sick in some way prior to the reported attack.

Find out what's happening in Bernardsville-Bedminsterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

MacDonald said her daughter, who is almost 7, was playing outdoors digging in the dirt at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, about 20 feet from the back door.

MacDonald said her back door was open, and she was cooking dinner, when all of a sudden she heard the girl screaming.

"She was screaming, and when I ran out, it [the raccoon] was on top of her," MacDonald said.

"She was trying to kick it off," said MacDonald, who said the animal had bitten the girl's leg.

"I kicked it," said MacDonald, who said she managed to get the raccoon off the girl. "I picked her up, and it came running after us." She said the two finally entered the house, and the raccoon did not get in.

MacDonald, who said she still is in shock, described the attack as both "weird" as well as disturbing. "It was a vicious, vicious attack," she said.

She said that the backyard is not wooded, although it has a few trees, and that the raccoon apparently crossed an open, grassy area to reach the girl.

MacDonald said she called 9-1-1, and, as a nurse, knew to immediately wash the wound with water and soap before she herself transported the child to the emergency room. There, she said that she herself also received the initial two shots in the five-shot protocol for the rabies vaccine, since she may have been exposed although she was not bitten.

But, "My daughter has a really bad bite," she added.

MacDonald said a borough police officer had responded to the call, and from what she had been told by a neighbor, had searched for the animal for about 10 minutes.

But MacDonald said that she believes police should have contacted St. Hubert's.

MacDonald herself contacted the animal control service. Saunders said that animal control officers were dispatched to the area for searches on both Tuesday and Wednesday. "They're out there canvassing the neighborhood," she said on Wednesday afternoon.

Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine on Wednesday afternoon said that he was unable to talk to the responding officer at that time for details about the call. But, he said, "I am very concerned, and looking at if there's anything else we need to do at this time."

Saunders said that police generally call the animal control officer if they locate an animal, and want the officer to secure the animal.

She said she had not heard of similar incidents in the area. However, she said the incident underscores the need to obtain rabies vaccines for all household pets, since she said owners do not always know if they have been exposed.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Bernardsville-Bedminster