An Arizona woman trying to save her dogs from an aggressive javelina was briefly hospitalized after she was bitten in the shin by the animal.
The 68-year-old woman, who lives on five acres in Pearce, about 80 miles southeast of Tucson, told the Arizona Department of Game and Fish Department that she walked out her back door and found the javelina engaging with the two dogs — a labradoodle and a small lap dog.
While she was able to rush the small dog to safety, the larger dog was harder to retrieve, she told Game and Fish. The woman kicked the javelina in an attempt to free her dog, but the javelina bit the woman on the shin, the agency said in a news release.
After a short stint in the hospital, the woman was released and is doing well, the release said.
“She recognized it was a mistake to try to get into that fight,” said Mark Hart, an agency spokesman.
It is never okay to engage wild animals, even if they seem docile in that moment, Hart said. Even worse, he noted, was something residents might not even realize they’re doing.
“Feeding (wild animals) is the leading cause of wildlife bites in Arizona,” Hart shared. Even if it’s inadvertent, like seeds falling out of a bird feeder or garbage cans left on the curb overnight.
The season’s milder temperatures create a perfect storm for people and javelina co-mingling, he said.
Whether it’s on the street, in carports or on a hiking trail, javelina are often on the lookout for predators, which can look like a dog.
Hart said someone is injured about every three to six months during a dog-javelina tussle.
