A rabid deer attacked a Pennsylvania woman in broad daylight as she was opening up a paint shop for business, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
Rachel McGough took a picture of what she thought was a sweet deer as she opened up a Sherwin Williams paint store in East Huntingdon Township, which she manages.
But the innocent scene turned deadly when the doe went straight for McGough and began ramming into her.
"Oh my God! This deer is going to kill me," McGough said.
"I had a couple of bags with me that I shoved at it trying to get away," she told the station. "One of the bags got looped around its neck, which allowed me to get a couple feet away."
Lucky for McGough, two men at a nearby McDonald's saw the attack and ran to her rescue. The Good Samaritans tackled the doe and tied the animal up before it could bite McGough.
Pennsylvania's Game Commission was called to the scene to collect the deer, but she died before they arrived. Tests conducted on the doe came back positive for rabies, Wildlife Conservation Officer Mike Papinchak told CBS Pittsburgh.
"There had to be something wrong," McGough said. "Its head was scabbed over and it was foaming green from its mouth."
The rabies virus can transfer to humans if a person is bit by an infected animal, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Once infected the virus attacks the brain and causes anxiety, confusion, hallucinations and eventually death.
Most cases of rabies involve skunks, bats, raccoons and foxes, according to the CDC. But deer rarely contract rabies, Papinchak told the station.
McGough said the deer didn't bite her, but one of the men who rescued her suffered scratches. The game commission contacted those involved in the incident about possible treatment, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
It is not yet clear if anyone has been infected, but Papinchak said there is no reason for the public to be alarmed.
