Igor Kleyner described his encounter with the raccoon in an email to me as follows:
I had a very unpleasant incident this evening (May 24 - HL). About 8:30 pm, as I was walking with [my dog] Doctor on Deborah Drive, we were attacked by a raccoon. Here is a "play-by-play"...
- we are walking toward South on the pool side of Deborah, approaching Kirkwall
- a raccoon comes out from the woods between 107XX houses and Deborah, crosses Deborah about 50 feet in front of us, as we stop and pause, and climbs a tree in the front yard of the house on the north-west corner of Deborah and Kirkwall.
- we walk past the raccoon and cross Kirkwall
- as we reach the southwest corner of Deborah and Kirkwall, the beast starts making barking sounds while looking at us, then climbs down from the tree and charges us
- I yell at it with no apparent effect, then run across Deborah to our side of the road, dragging Doctor along
- the coon pauses, then charges again, this time more aggressively; instinctively, I kick the damn beast in its face, grab Doctor and run across Deborah again back to the side where it all started
- the coon does not chase us anymore - it goes into the woods, ...
- I called MC animal control emergency number when I got home - they were surprisingly uninterested and told me that since I can't tell them where the coon is right now, they will not do anything. ... I am going to call their non-emergency number tomorrow morning, hoping for a more intelligent and receptive person on the other end of the line.
Carolyn Hayes, whose husband witnessed the raccoon attack, emailed me the following description:
Hi Harvey,
I just wanted to communicate an experience my husband had last night while walking one of our dogs. The only reason this raccoon may not have been rabid was because the incident happened after dark-when racoons are out normally in nature.
He said he heard a man scream, and he went to the location where he heard it. It was in the center "island" area between our houses. [The man] who has a small black dog, had to kick a hissing raccoon that got too close to him and his pet. The animal then ran back into the woods. I don’t know if they got to close to the wooded area at that time of night and was too close to where the raccoon was for comfort, but it was worth me emailing you about so that other residents can be aware. I would hate to see someone's pet or child have an accident with one.
Carolyn
So, please be alert when you are walking your dog after dark. I think I’ll look for a small stick to carry.
Please see Igor's and Carolyn's comments below (If they are not visible, click on the word "comments").
Harvey,
Harvey Levine
iftblog@gmail.com
2 comments:
Here is an update to the raccoon incident...
I called MC Animal Control this morning and actually got to talk to someone reasonably intelligent, knowledgeable and attentive (surprise!) The woman's verdict was somewhat reassuring - most likely the raccoon was NOT rabid, but rather an overzealous nursing mother trying to protect her babies. She said a rabid raccoon would not just retreat after one kick in the face (and there I was starting to believe in my superpowers!) and while she did not rule the rabies out completely, her estimate of less than 5% probability of such seems reasonable.
Nevertheless, even if the coon is not rabid, it is still there, and there is no reason why it would not be just as aggressive tonight - or any other night, or day for that matter, as it was still not dark when it happened - to another person, or a dog, or a kid. Not sure what can be done about it - may be printing out a warning and delivering it to the 20 or so houses that face the woods where the aggressor seems to live.
Thank you for the update Igor. I am so sorry you had that terrible experience last evening.
Carolyn Hayes
Post a Comment