MOCKSVILLE, NC (WFMY) - The Davie County Sheriff's Office is warning neighbors about a possible coyote attack in Mocksville.
According to a Facebook post from the department, a girl and her father were attacked by a wild animal believed to be a coyote around 3:15 p.m. Saturday at a home on Depot Street.
"My daughter was on the swing and I was on the porch, and she started screaming and I noticed something was attacking her," the girl's father, Fidel Castro Grande said in Spanish.
"I ran immediately, broke the door down, got it off her and that's when it attacked me. I was wrestling it until I was able to get it off from me, and it had bitten off part of my face."
He said in his panic, he forgot where the machete was to try to fight off the animal.
"There is a high probability that the animal was rabid," said Bob DeWitt of Davie County Animal Control.
Both people received medical attention and are undergoing treatment for rabies, which is a standard procedure when animal attack people. The sheriff's office says the animal has not been found.
"It actually ran across Depot Street, back into a slightly more secluded area and we haven't had another report of one in town so it might have expired by now," added DeWitt.
DeWitt also admitted that Davie County has a 'Coyote Problem'. This is the second reported coyote attack in Davie County so far this year. In March, a 9-year-old girl was attacked outside her home in Advance. Animal control says to expect to see more interactions with wildlife as we enter the breeding and mating season for many animals.
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