Mom Dies of Rabies After ‘Tiny Puppy Scratch’ on Vacation

When a stray puppy scratched Yvonne Ford’s leg beneath a beach lounger in Morocco, the mark seemed too small to worry about. It barely bled, according to her family. She cleaned it with a wet wipe and continued her vacation.

Four months later, the 59-year-old mother and grandmother was dead from rabies. Now her daughter, Robyn Thomson, is sharing what happened so other travelers will know that even a minor-looking scratch can require urgent medical advice. (ITV News Calendar)

Yvonne and her husband, Ron, were vacationing in February 2025 when she startled a puppy resting under her sunbed. The dog scratched her leg. Her family did not know the small injury could pose a rabies risk, and Yvonne did not seek treatment at the time. (ITV News Calendar)

She seemed well after returning home to England. Then, in late May, she began developing symptoms. By early June, she was in Barnsley Hospital with a rapidly worsening illness that included confusion, anxiety and hallucinations. Doctors initially struggled to identify the cause. At an inquest this March, a psychiatrist described asking about Yvonne’s travel after being called to assess her symptoms; the account of the dog encounter prompted concern about rabies. She was transferred to an infectious disease unit in Sheffield and died on June 11, 2025. (ITV News Calendar)

For Thomson, the hardest part is knowing how ordinary the encounter looked. Her mother loved animals, she told Metro, and the puppy had not appeared threatening. She now works with Worldwide Veterinary Service and its Mission Rabies program to raise awareness and support efforts to vaccinate dogs.

The UK Health Security Agency confirmed that a traveler died after contact with a stray dog in Morocco. It urged people bitten or scratched in a country where rabies is present to wash the injury with soap and water and seek medical advice without delay. A friendly-looking animal and a small wound cannot, on their own, rule out exposure. (GOV.UK)

That advice matters for Americans traveling overseas, too. The CDC recommends washing a bite or scratch with soap and running water for 15 minutes, then promptly speaking with a medical or public health professional about whether rabies prevention treatment is needed. Depending on the exposure and a person’s vaccination history, that treatment may include rabies vaccine and immune globulin. The decision calls for a professional risk assessment; travelers should not wait for symptoms or for a wound to look serious. (CDC)

Once symptoms have begun, rabies is almost always fatal. At Yvonne’s inquest, an infectious disease specialist said she appeared to have become symptomatic before reaching the hospital, when preventive treatment could no longer save her. Thomson’s message comes from that painful timing: after contact with an unfamiliar animal abroad, the time to ask for help is immediately, even if the mark looks like “just a scratch.” (ITV News Calendar)