Massachusetts woman, 73, attacked by rabid raccoon in her bed

HINGHAM, Mass., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A 73-year-old woman said she is recovering after she was mauled by a rabid raccoon as she slept in her Hingham, Mass., home.

Ginny Ballou said the raccoon entered her house Wednesday through a back porch pet door.

"I was asleep and something jumped on my face. At first I thought it was my cat, but then it bit my chin and lip, and latched on," she told WBZ-TV, Boston, Friday. "It was clamped on me, and ripping my face. I finally got him off and hit him with my phone."

After she called police, a state environmental police officer arrived and captured the raccoon, which was found to have rabies and was euthanized. Ballou was treated at a hospital and has begun a series of anti-rabies shots, WBZ-TV said.