Bearsden dog walker terrorised by fox
A WOMAN out walking her dog had a terrifying encounter with an aggressive fox in Bearsden.
Caroline Sokhi (60) was stopped in her tracks after being confronted by the animal, which growled at her and blocked her path.
She was forced to retreat — and said she fears a fox could mount an attack similar to that which happened this week in the East End of London when nine month old twins were mauled as they slept.
Mrs Sokhi was walking her medium-sized dog on Sunday night near her home in Lochend Road.
She came across the fox, which, rather than running away, stood its ground.
A couple of days beforehand, she said her husband had been followed home by a fox, although she had dismissed the incident as a one off at the time.
Following the encounter, Caroline said she had resolved to report the incident to police, even before the horror attack on the twins in London the previous night had come to light.
In that attack a fox had entered a house in Hackney. Experts believe the fox may have been trying to take the nappy from one of the youngsters thinking it was food and attacked the infants because it saw them as rivals.
The retired GP, who has lived in the area for about 20 years, said: "The fox was growling. It then sprung up on to a wall and was exhibiting what I would call aggressive behaviour.
"I have walked my dog here for more than 10 years and normally foxes slink away, but this one was blocking my way and I decided to turn back. I was not that far from my house and just want to warn people to be on their guard."
She contacted the council's environmental health department, but they told her it was not something they dealt with and told her to speak to the police.
Caroline said: "The community police office at Kirkintilloch who specialised in wildlife told me we were 'reaping what we had sown'.
Many people feed urban foxes which has encouraged them into our gardens. He thought the fox was probably a vixen with cubs and because we have had such a harsh winter combined with our use of wheelie bins, which foxes cannot get into, this has made many of them unafraid of humans, but very hungry at this time of year."
The officer advised Caroline that nature would take care of itself in the long term but to take a stick with her next time she went out.
Have you had any similar experiences? What do you think about the number of foxes in Bearsden and Milngavie? Click here to let us know.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Milngavie
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: West
