Rabies?

I'm surprised to hear in this day and age that a someone local would get rabies. I would think it's common knowledge that if you're bitten by some critter that's not known to have been vaccinated against rabies, you get a series of shots and you won't get rabies.

Apparently this person didn't, and I can't help but wonder why? I realize there's personal and medical privacy issues involved, but I'd be interested in the circumstances. There might be a lesson to be learned for the rest of us and we might be able to keep our eyes open for similar circumstances so it doesn't happen to someone else.

Any guesses as to what might have happened?