Weasel Attack

Woman recounts weasel's attack

By ANNE MILLER, Staff writer

GLENVILLE -- A frightening growl greeted Louise Scheuerman when she took out the trash. But as she turned to run inside her home, an animal followed, sank its teeth in to her right instep and wouldn't let go.

Scheuerman on Tuesday recounted her harrowing encounter with a rabid fisher, a day after the animal -- a member of the weasel family -- attacked her at her home at 839 Sanders Ave.


Glenville police later tracked, shot and killed the 12-pound animal. The Department of Environmental Conservation announced Tuesday that the fisher was rabid, explaining its unusually aggressive behavior.

Scheuerman, 60, who was treated for the bite in the Ellis Hospital emergency room, said she figured the animal must have had rabies. For the next month, she will undergo a series of shots to protect her from the disease.

Scheuerman, said she had encountered feral cats in that county. But she said she never imagined anything like that here -- in a more urban area.

Monday evening, she decided to take out the trash and go for a walk, taking advantage of the relatively mild weather.

Instead, she heard a growl. She turned to run back inside, but was too late.

"It knocked me to the floor and just continued to bite," she said.

To fend off the attack, Scheuerman grabbed a fire extinguisher.

"I thought I could spray it, but then I thought, I don't have time to read the directions, so I just swung away."

The animal let go, ran into the house, lapped a room and dashed out again. Scheuerman closed the garage door and walked inside, only then noticing the blood pooling in her shoe.

She called her husband, who told her to call police.

"I was pretty hysterical," she said.

She didn't need stitches and can walk on her foot. By Tuesday evening, the swelling had receded, and she remained philosophical about the impending rabies shots after receiving the first one.

"It didn't hurt as much as the animal biting," she said.

As for taking out the garbage, she said her husband can handle that chore now.