Yesterday, Paige and Allie went over to a friend's house. The friend's mother motioned to the two girls to go away. She called out through the window that there was a raccoon that wasn't acting right in their yard. Paige and Allie returned to the sidewalk and looked for the raccoon. It was under one of the windows and wasn't afraid of them or the people in the windows.
Madelyn has to deliver papers early Saturday morning. She left the house in the dark, but thought she saw a neighbor's cat next to our house. When she returned, she discovered that it was a raccoon. The raccoon was lying next to the house by the front door. It didn't move when she made noises or waved her hands. Madelyn decided to return to the house using the garage.
Allie wanted to go to a friend's house later in the morning and the raccoon was still in our front yard. It was in front of the garage. Katie wanted to get into her car, but the raccoon was about 3 feet from her car door. The raccoon's eyes were strange and he walked stiffly. Katie tried to call animal control, but they are closed on the weekend. She called her boyfriend, George who drove over. He honked his horn, but the raccoon just stayed where it was. George climbed out of his car and poked at the raccoon with his ice scraper. The raccoon moved under Katie's car. George continued to poke at the raccoon until it moved to the side of the yard. The raccoon slipped off of the top of the terrace onto a lower terrace. It slowly crawled over to the side and stayed there, snarling.
Katie and George drove over to the police station and asked if someone could come and look at the raccoon. An officer arrived a short time later. I showed him where the raccoon was located and told him our observations. The officer called his Sargent and asked how he should proceed. He was instructed to knock the raccoon off of the terrace and shoot it because it was probably rabid. There have been several rabid raccoons in the county recently. He had to get it off the terrace because the terrace has stone walls and a bullet could ricochet into our home.
The officer took care of the raccoon and disposed of the body.
My girls won't be playing in the woods unsupervised any more this fall. It was a little disconcerting to discover a rabid raccoon in the city limits. Even with the woods and rivers nearby, I didn't expect dangerous wildlife.
Madelyn has to deliver papers early Saturday morning. She left the house in the dark, but thought she saw a neighbor's cat next to our house. When she returned, she discovered that it was a raccoon. The raccoon was lying next to the house by the front door. It didn't move when she made noises or waved her hands. Madelyn decided to return to the house using the garage.
Allie wanted to go to a friend's house later in the morning and the raccoon was still in our front yard. It was in front of the garage. Katie wanted to get into her car, but the raccoon was about 3 feet from her car door. The raccoon's eyes were strange and he walked stiffly. Katie tried to call animal control, but they are closed on the weekend. She called her boyfriend, George who drove over. He honked his horn, but the raccoon just stayed where it was. George climbed out of his car and poked at the raccoon with his ice scraper. The raccoon moved under Katie's car. George continued to poke at the raccoon until it moved to the side of the yard. The raccoon slipped off of the top of the terrace onto a lower terrace. It slowly crawled over to the side and stayed there, snarling.
Katie and George drove over to the police station and asked if someone could come and look at the raccoon. An officer arrived a short time later. I showed him where the raccoon was located and told him our observations. The officer called his Sargent and asked how he should proceed. He was instructed to knock the raccoon off of the terrace and shoot it because it was probably rabid. There have been several rabid raccoons in the county recently. He had to get it off the terrace because the terrace has stone walls and a bullet could ricochet into our home.
The officer took care of the raccoon and disposed of the body.
My girls won't be playing in the woods unsupervised any more this fall. It was a little disconcerting to discover a rabid raccoon in the city limits. Even with the woods and rivers nearby, I didn't expect dangerous wildlife.
2 comments:
That's nice your police took care of it. We had a sick (bleeding) raccoon in our detached garage, and AC said we could rent a trap ($15) and then call them to take it away ($20). They are happy to come quite often to visit and fine us when our dog escapes or the dog next door barks too much in his own house, but aren't interested in sick, dangerous wildlife
I was really surprised that the police took care of the raccoon. Our previous experiences with the small town force was not as positive.
Our police are also quick to respond to civil infractions. Our previous neighbor was constantly getting fines for her dogs and children playing in the street.
Post a Comment