Tammy DuBois enjoys being outdoors at her South Jersey home.

Tammy DuBois of Pittsgrove Township was attacked by a rabid fox at her home on July 18. (Photo Provided/DuBois Family)

So on July 18 she was on her way out in the yard to visit the garden, but first she checked a bird feeder near the house.

There was a rustling in the bushes, but it didn't strike her as that odd. It might be a stray cat or even a dog, she thought. Animals that are often abandoned by their owners in Pittsgrove Township's Parvin State Park near her family's property.

It was then she saw it. A fox ran from the bushes and jumped up against her leg, the entire time making a barking-type sound often heard from foxes -- "yip, yip, yip, yip, yip."

"I just backed up," DuBois, 52, recounted. "It was going crazy, making noises and its mouth was moving."

The fox circled around DuBois and began its attack, biting her with its sharp teeth on the calf of her right leg. Then it bit her again, its teeth puncturing her skin a second time.

Trying to escape, DuBois ran up the steps of her porch to the house door.

The fox followed. As she tried to open the door to get inside, the fox began gnawing sideways on her already wounded leg.

DuBois said she usually had some garden tools on the porch, but there were none this day she could use to fend off the vicious animal.

Tammy DuBois of Pittsgrove Township was attacked by a rabid fox on July 18. At left, a wound on her leg. At right, the rabid fox after it had been killed. (Photo Provided/DuBois Family)

With the animal tearing at her flesh she reached down and grabbed its snout with her left hand holding it tightly shut. With her right hand she grabbed the fox's neck and squeezed.

"It was biting at my leg, I had to do something."

The fox struggled to get free, but soon went limp.

"I couldn't do anything else to get it away from me," she said. "I don't like to kill anything."

DuBois tossed the fox from the porch and made it inside, then alerted a neighbor to warn them about what had just happened.

She cleaned and bandaged her badly-bleeding leg and called her husband, Bob, who took her to a local hospital. DuBois was aided and began a two-week series of rabies treatment.

An animal control officer retrieved the fox sending it to the state for testing. The positive rabies finding was received Monday.

Salem County Spokeswoman Brenda P. Banks Tuesday said the DuBois rabies case was the third confirmed in the county this year. The other two involved rabid animals which bit other animals in Quinton and Upper Pittsgrove.

DuBois' case is the only one this year in which a human was attacked.

So far this year in New Jersey, through June 30, 72 terrestrial rabies cases have were confirmed, the state Department of Health said. Those included 49 raccoons , 13 skunks, nine cats and one groundhog. There were also nine confirmed rabid bats through June 30, the statistics show.

The fox that bit DuBois would likely be the first fox confirmed as rabid this year in the state.

Banks, said the county health department always teaches the public to stay away from animals they are not familiar with, especially wild animals. If they are bitten, they should seek medical care immediately.

Signs that an animal may have rabies include disorientation, foaming at the mouth and sometimes lethargy. If a nocturnal animal such as a fox, raccoon or opossum is seen out during the day, that can also be a red flag something may be wrong with the animal.

DuBois' daughter, Laura, spoke of her mother's strength in dealing with the incident.

"I'm just so proud of my mom for reacting the way she did," Laura DuBois said. "I don't know what I would have done."

Laura DuBois said as she drove to see her mother after her hospital treatment, her mom had some words of advice for her.

"She told me to stay in the car (when I got there)" in case there was another fox lurking around the home.

Tammy DuBois has lived on Almond Road for 16 years and grew up in the area. She says she never had an encounter like this before.

"I am always aware of my surroundings. This just caught me off guard."

Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips