Video shows man being attacked by rabid raccoon while walking dog

CHARLOTTE — A man is recovering after he was attacked by a rabid raccoon, and it was all caught on video.

John Rhinehart now holds a cattle prod for protection when he walks his dog, Asha, in their east Charlotte neighborhood. You probably would too if you were attacked by a raccoon, like he was a couple weeks ago.

Rhinehart said it happened while walking Asha before sunrise.

“He started charging this way,” he told Channel 9′s Dan Matics. “He came up under my car and started attacking my dog right here.”

The attack was all caught on his security camera.

“I was able to use my flashlight to beat him down a little bit,” Rhinehart said. “We got to the steps and he was still charging and attacking us.”

He retreated to his front door, where he fell.

“I had scratches here, and places on my legs,” he said.

Rhinehart was able to grab a garden spade and killed the raccoon. Animal control sent a sample off to be tested at a lab, which showed the animal had rabies. Asha was up to date on her vaccine but John is not.

“They gave me a shot here, in my thigh -- this thigh, this arm, and this arm,” Rhinehart said.

He’s glad man and best friend will be OK. The cattle prod is for any other animal that might be infected, but he said the probability of it happening again is low.

“Has anything like this ever happened to you?” Matics asked.

“No, not in my life, I’m 72 years old! Nothing!” he said.

Rhinehart said he’s going back for his final rabies vaccination on Friday. The doctors told him he’ll be just fine.

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