Rabid raccoon goes after us, Cujo style:
So, I’m working on a really hard espalier trimming and wiring today to the front of a house in the hot sun. (Yes, X does more than removals.)
Wife calls and said to make sure I get home at 4:30 so that she can go somewhere.
I say, let’s ask the babysitter (86 year old woman, her birthday today) to stay a little longer and I’ll be there at 5:30.
All is okay, I can be there at 5:30.
I get home right at 5:30, even though I wanted to stay and trim more.
I have a 6 yr old daughter and a son that is almost 2. Just me and the kids now.
We are outside playing with bubbles.
We have a “platform” near our large pond and we are letting the wind blow bubbles.
My daughter climbs down the platform to the first step and was checking the bird house to see if the Wren had any eggs yet.
This was around 6pm today I think.
Then….. All of a sudden our new puppy (got in January) is yelping and running past us.
There is a long legged raccoon chasing her nipping at her heals.
My daughter steps down, maybe to start to help and I yell to her to climb the platform and make sure Sam stays there with her. She goes up to the platform but is whaling; as her puppy is being attached by some wild animal.
In emergencies, everything slows down for me and I think very clearly and decisively. I’m glad I’m that way.
I thought, number one priority: the kids. Number two: Me. Number three: the dog.
I ran past the dog and raccoon and into the house to grab a gun. I shut the door behind me.
Yeah, it’s just a raccoon but I figured already that it probably had rabies and a raccoon can really mess you up. (a mother raccoon got a hold of a friend’s niece a few years ago and she had to get like 75 stitches).
I unlocked the gun area and grabbed the Ithaca Shotgun my Dad willed to me when he passed away in 2010. I grabbed two shells.
My other gun was just a 22 and I didn’t want to have to shoot it a bunch of times before I killed it.
[BTW, those that know me know that I don’t exaggerate and I don’t tell lies. But this is where this is going to look like an exaggeration.]
I grabbed two shells, both happened to be slugs and I noticed that and thought NO SPREAD. (I only had slugs and bird shot in that box. Very low on ammo with the ridiculous shortage lately).
I ran to the kitchen door, a mostly glass door.
The puppy was trying to get in and the raccoon got her, they were rolling in a ball, outside the glass door.
I went to load the gun and the shells would not enter the gun.
I was frustrated, I knew I was doing things right, but they wouldn’t load. I questioned if I was panicking or something.
Anyway, I thought the dog might get hurt real soon so I opened the door anyway and used the barrel to push off the raccoon.
As I pushed off the raccoon it ravenously bit at the barrel of the gun.
I flipped the raccoon away from the dog.
The dog ran inside the kitchen and I slammed the door.
The raccoon came at the glass door and was biting at the glass trying to get in.
I yelled to the kids not to be crying and to be quite, but I doubted they could hear me with the closed kitchen windows.
The raccoon was still at the door as I continued to try to load the gun. It wouldn’t load, it was like a bad dream.
I thought, fine, I’ll pull the bolt back and put one in the barrel myself. One shot, that’s going to be it.
As I slipped one into the barrel, at that time the raccoon happened to become uninterested in the closed door and decided to run back toward the kids.
I don’t know if it was going to go after them or go under them. All I knew was that it was going their way and raccoons can climb good.
I ran after it and it didn’t seem to notice.
So I yelled loud and mean, “HEY!!!”
(thinking it had rabies and didn’t like loud noises)
It worked.
It spun around and honest to God ran toward me.
When it was about 8 feet away I said, “Die Fukker” and pulled the trigger.
It was blown back about 3 to 4 feet and fell into the pond dead.
I told the kids that everything was okay.
Sam, the 2 year old had been a little scared but now thought that was pretty cool and was saying, “nother one, bomm!, nother one boom.” He was hoping for another raccoon and that I would shoot it.
I remembered that you aren’t supposed to pick up a dog with saliva from a possible rabid attack, so I explained to the kids to hold tight and I was going to wash Lucy our dog.
I picked her up in a big towel and gave her a shower with shampoo. Amazingly, I couldn’t find any puncture wounds. She had some rabies vaccine shots too.
I then bleached every wet spot the dog and raccoon had been.
The kids were now calm and told me the turtles in the pond were already trying to eat the raccoon.
I walked over to the kids to help them down and noticed chunks of meat on the steps. I sprayed the chunks and had the kids go down the other steps.
My wife pulled in about 15 minutes later and we sure had a story.
The Vet gave us some good information and told us that since we touched the dog, even after a shower, the health department is probably going to want us all to get shots.
I triple bagged the raccoon with nitrile gloves and put in the frig as they asked.
Hopefully there is enough brain, or the important part is left in tack, as it was a direct hit to the head and things are blown apart.
It was a female. Very skinny. Had some large nipples but no milk supply. Likely lost her young to rabies. Looked starved. Front left paw had some old puncture bite wounds (likely when she got attacked by a rabid raccoon). Very long legs, exaggerated by the lack of belly I think. You probably don’t think this looks much like a raccoon.
Thanks to God that I was home, we had a dog and our government allows us the right to have our guns.
I apologized to my daughter for saying a bad word but she didn't seem to remember. She apologized for spilling my coke a bit as she bumped into it climbing the platform. I said I didn't care.
If I was reading this and didn't know the reader, I would think that this was an exaggeration or made up story. All I can say is that it's not.
So, I’m working on a really hard espalier trimming and wiring today to the front of a house in the hot sun. (Yes, X does more than removals.)
Wife calls and said to make sure I get home at 4:30 so that she can go somewhere.
I say, let’s ask the babysitter (86 year old woman, her birthday today) to stay a little longer and I’ll be there at 5:30.
All is okay, I can be there at 5:30.
I get home right at 5:30, even though I wanted to stay and trim more.
I have a 6 yr old daughter and a son that is almost 2. Just me and the kids now.
We are outside playing with bubbles.
We have a “platform” near our large pond and we are letting the wind blow bubbles.
My daughter climbs down the platform to the first step and was checking the bird house to see if the Wren had any eggs yet.
This was around 6pm today I think.
Then….. All of a sudden our new puppy (got in January) is yelping and running past us.
There is a long legged raccoon chasing her nipping at her heals.
My daughter steps down, maybe to start to help and I yell to her to climb the platform and make sure Sam stays there with her. She goes up to the platform but is whaling; as her puppy is being attached by some wild animal.
In emergencies, everything slows down for me and I think very clearly and decisively. I’m glad I’m that way.
I thought, number one priority: the kids. Number two: Me. Number three: the dog.
I ran past the dog and raccoon and into the house to grab a gun. I shut the door behind me.
Yeah, it’s just a raccoon but I figured already that it probably had rabies and a raccoon can really mess you up. (a mother raccoon got a hold of a friend’s niece a few years ago and she had to get like 75 stitches).
I unlocked the gun area and grabbed the Ithaca Shotgun my Dad willed to me when he passed away in 2010. I grabbed two shells.
My other gun was just a 22 and I didn’t want to have to shoot it a bunch of times before I killed it.
[BTW, those that know me know that I don’t exaggerate and I don’t tell lies. But this is where this is going to look like an exaggeration.]
I grabbed two shells, both happened to be slugs and I noticed that and thought NO SPREAD. (I only had slugs and bird shot in that box. Very low on ammo with the ridiculous shortage lately).
I ran to the kitchen door, a mostly glass door.
The puppy was trying to get in and the raccoon got her, they were rolling in a ball, outside the glass door.
I went to load the gun and the shells would not enter the gun.
I was frustrated, I knew I was doing things right, but they wouldn’t load. I questioned if I was panicking or something.
Anyway, I thought the dog might get hurt real soon so I opened the door anyway and used the barrel to push off the raccoon.
As I pushed off the raccoon it ravenously bit at the barrel of the gun.
I flipped the raccoon away from the dog.
The dog ran inside the kitchen and I slammed the door.
The raccoon came at the glass door and was biting at the glass trying to get in.
I yelled to the kids not to be crying and to be quite, but I doubted they could hear me with the closed kitchen windows.
The raccoon was still at the door as I continued to try to load the gun. It wouldn’t load, it was like a bad dream.
I thought, fine, I’ll pull the bolt back and put one in the barrel myself. One shot, that’s going to be it.
As I slipped one into the barrel, at that time the raccoon happened to become uninterested in the closed door and decided to run back toward the kids.
I don’t know if it was going to go after them or go under them. All I knew was that it was going their way and raccoons can climb good.
I ran after it and it didn’t seem to notice.
So I yelled loud and mean, “HEY!!!”
(thinking it had rabies and didn’t like loud noises)
It worked.
It spun around and honest to God ran toward me.
When it was about 8 feet away I said, “Die Fukker” and pulled the trigger.
It was blown back about 3 to 4 feet and fell into the pond dead.
I told the kids that everything was okay.
Sam, the 2 year old had been a little scared but now thought that was pretty cool and was saying, “nother one, bomm!, nother one boom.” He was hoping for another raccoon and that I would shoot it.
I remembered that you aren’t supposed to pick up a dog with saliva from a possible rabid attack, so I explained to the kids to hold tight and I was going to wash Lucy our dog.
I picked her up in a big towel and gave her a shower with shampoo. Amazingly, I couldn’t find any puncture wounds. She had some rabies vaccine shots too.
I then bleached every wet spot the dog and raccoon had been.
The kids were now calm and told me the turtles in the pond were already trying to eat the raccoon.
I walked over to the kids to help them down and noticed chunks of meat on the steps. I sprayed the chunks and had the kids go down the other steps.
My wife pulled in about 15 minutes later and we sure had a story.
The Vet gave us some good information and told us that since we touched the dog, even after a shower, the health department is probably going to want us all to get shots.
I triple bagged the raccoon with nitrile gloves and put in the frig as they asked.
Hopefully there is enough brain, or the important part is left in tack, as it was a direct hit to the head and things are blown apart.
It was a female. Very skinny. Had some large nipples but no milk supply. Likely lost her young to rabies. Looked starved. Front left paw had some old puncture bite wounds (likely when she got attacked by a rabid raccoon). Very long legs, exaggerated by the lack of belly I think. You probably don’t think this looks much like a raccoon.
Thanks to God that I was home, we had a dog and our government allows us the right to have our guns.
I apologized to my daughter for saying a bad word but she didn't seem to remember. She apologized for spilling my coke a bit as she bumped into it climbing the platform. I said I didn't care.
If I was reading this and didn't know the reader, I would think that this was an exaggeration or made up story. All I can say is that it's not.
