It is the time of year when the raccoons are everywhere, with their little one's following behind... learning the art of sneaking in garages to eat the cat food, or climbing your fruit trees to get those nice juicy cherries or plums...
Just before bed the other night, Randy started barking like crazy, so I opened the door and both he and Milli went flying out the door... and around in the dark in front of the garage...than I heard him screaming..yes screaming.. I have never heard him make that horrible noise before. 
I knew it was a raccoon, and I could hear that little "clicky" noise raccoons make coming from under our partially opened garage door. Yes, she had babies, she wasn't going to leave the babies. I grabbed the closest thing I could find which was a metal barbecue spatula from the nearby barbecue and screamed "Get, Get, You Get!!!"..loud and over and over again. She finally let go of Randy, and ran to the end of the side of the house and spun around.. like she was going to turn on me, and she probably would of, if I had gotten close.. there was no way she was leaving without those babies!
I ran into the house and opened the door to the garage.. there they were 3 raccoon babies peaking out the garage door, waiting for the word from mom. In the end they scampered out, and that door was shut. Poor Delilah the cat will have to wait for the raccoons to move on before she leaves the garage at night. As for Randy, he was chewed up on his back flank with scratch and bite marks. He was shaking, and very upset. I took him to our vet first thing the next morning, and he appears to have escaped with less injuries than it could of been.
Not true for the little Jack Russell that was being picked up at the vet when I picked up Randy. I knew right away it was raccoons for him too. That poor dog was covered on both sides with punctures and cuts. The owner said two raccoons attacked him while they were raiding her cherry tree.
I am sorry..even though they are "cute", I never want to see them in or around my place again!!!
Isn't it amazing what mothers will do to protect their young?!?!?
ReplyDeleteI've come to despise most woodland critters. They are so destructive (even if they are cute!).
ReplyDeleteOh man! What a night! You are right - cute little fellows, but extremely destructive! And dangerous! I am glad that they have vacated the garage!
ReplyDeleteThey are indeed wild. Cute, but not fun to have on your property, necessarily.
ReplyDeleteOhhhh! Poor Randy! Good thing the raccoon didn't turn on you! Yeah, I wouldn't want them skulking about our place, either.
ReplyDeleteHeh, on a lighter note, my word verification is eyerat... :)
Ya...I once had a mom and 4 babies move in under my hot tub...and we lived in the city at that time. However...the cats food and water were up on a deck 3 stories high so she just moved in with her family. We finally had to trap her and her babies and take them out to the country. Up close...the SMELL bad and growl and hiss and really are aggressive at times. Poor Randy!
ReplyDeleteI hope Randy will be ok! That had to be scary. Coon's are so mean! I have only seen a couple coon's around here. Hopefully we will never get a bunch hanging around!
ReplyDeleteWhat a crazy night!
ReplyDeleteI agree with ya. I got lots of complaints from my readers about my dislike for mice in my house, because they are so CUTE! gah! Mice are horrible little creatures that pee, poop and chew everythin in their path...and then they crawl between your walls, chewing electric wires causing not only costly electric repairs but the chance of fire!
Oh...and let's not forget the nasty odor they leave behind for days after they crawl between your walls...and then die! One just died somewhere in my daughter's room walls...and her room reeks so bad she can't even sleep in there. yuk!
Raccoons are cute, too, but they are dangerous...as you and your dogs realized..and they can carry rabies, too. I'm glad that one didn't, though. whew!
So how do they get into your garage?
~Lisa
word verif: woodth (leteth the raccoonth goeth backth intoeth the woodth! lol!)
Jan,just like to say you have a nice place.
ReplyDeletejohn.
Wow! Poor Randy - and what a scary night for you. It is amazing how mother nature (and mother's in general) will protect their young... just wish they wouldn't do it in our garages...
ReplyDeleteRaccoons are nasty animals. I can't stand them. And yes, everyone who doesn't have them thinks they are so "cute".
ReplyDeletePoor Randy! I know she was just defending her babies, but heck he was just defending his home! I'm glad he wasn't hurt too bad,,,mainly his pride?
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Glad to hear that Randy is all right. I have never liked raccoons, I think that they are really mean and aggressive!
ReplyDeleteoh goodness... im so so glad that randy is okay though!
ReplyDeleteget this: while growing up my family and i always had "coon dogs".. well once my dad came up on a dead mom racoon and a little baby just laying beside her.. so he got the baby and brought her home... we raised her up.. and whatya know! that baby racoon would suck milk from the moma "coon dog"... true story, swear!!
This morning I woke up to our potted plants on the deck all having been dug up...looks like the racoons are back at our place, too. We had a really bad problem with them last year when we used to leave cat food out all night. We stopped doing that, and it has been better. I worry about the racoons and my cats -- would hate for them to get hurt. So glad your dog was not seriously injured!!
ReplyDeleteI thought I posted here, for some reason my posts are not sticking!
ReplyDeleteI also hate them, nasty mean animals. I got great pleasure from hosing one out of my cherry tree the other night!
Most wild animals are pests to have around! I know they are often cute, but if they can find a way to get something from you for food, they can often cause destruction, disease, and/or injury. Coons can be very vicious and I am so glad that Randy wasn't hurt any worse. I assume he has had his rabies shots since you've had problems with those beasties before.
ReplyDeleteI love to look at wild animals, in their own areas and AWAY from people and their property! If you've followed our blog, you know our problems with those "cute" little squirrels...