HOBOKEN, Ga. — Jody Dreggors said he’s spent a lot of time in the woods over the years. He’s seen bobcats before too. “And as soon as you see them, they’re gone,” he said.
That’s how he knew the one he saw in his cousin’s yard Saturday had issues.
“It was a cool day, we had a good bonfire going,” he said. “We were having a cookout ... and at about 6:30/7 [p.m.], I heard a growl and I kept hearing it,” Dreggors told Action News Jax Tuesday.
He was cooking on the grill and finally turned around to see where the growl was coming from. “About that time, a bobcat came from under the porch,” he said.
Unlike the ones he saw in the woods in years past, this bobcat stayed put.
“It was making this terrible noise,” Dreggors said. Before he could react, the bobcat latched on to his knee and started biting him.
He was able to free himself from the animal and it retreated back under the porch. His cousin came out into the yard armed with a rifle and shot the bobcat.
Dreggors said he was certain that the animal had rabies. He went to the hospital and immediately began receiving shots.
The animal was tested and Dreggors was right.
“It tested positive for rabies,” Chandler McGee with the Georgia Department of Public Health told Action News Jax. McGee added that there is no immediate danger to the community following the bobcat attack, but he did want to stress that residents should stay clear of wildlife and make sure their pets, especially outdoor ones, receive proper vaccinations.
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