Coyote in child attack had rabies

THE COYOTE that attacked a 5-year-old Westchester County girl before it was wrestled to the ground by an off-duty cop had rabies, authorities said Tuesday.

The determination by the Westchester Department of Health came two days after Irvington Officer Arcangelo Liberatore bravely foiled the terrifying attack in Thornwood.

“It’s kind of what we expected,” Liberatore told the Daily News. The officer, who along with the girl has already started a course of rabies shots, said he wasn’t thinking about diseases when he took down the crazed canine about 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Another officer shot it to death.

“I was more scared about what was going to happen to the little girl and boy and their mother,” he said.

“It looked like something out of ‘Cujo.’ ”

Liberatore had just finished a run when the beast attacked the young girl. Liberatore yanked it off her and pounded its head into the ground.

Neither Liberatore nor the young girl suffered serious injuries.