My dog was attacked by a raccoon tonight!

[kakn7294]

I feel so terrible for what happened to my dog tonight. She's a 15 lb, 11 yo Miniature Schnauzer. We were eating dinner and Maggie was whining and driving me crazy so I tied her outside. She was out there about 15 min or so and I heard a few high-pitched yips. I jumped up and ran to the door to see her being attacked by a raccoon - it was on her back and biting her. I yanked her leash but she was too scared to move and it wouldn't leave. I ran out screaming fully intending to kick it when I remembered that I didn't have any shoes on and I have a broken toe (that's another story). Fortunately, DH did have on shoes and ran out right behind me and did kick it. It fell off of the dog and she ran into the house. It stared down DH for a minute or so then when he came back into the house, it proceeded to hang out and climb all around my back steps and even up the back sliding / screen door for probably about 20 min, leaving just before the police showed up. I thank God that it doesn't appear that Maggie has any broken skin anywhere - she's long overdue for a shave and is pretty shaggy right now which is probably what saved her. She's also up-to-date on her rabies vaccination. I moan and complain about the dog all the time - I don't want a dog - but I learned tonight how much I do really love her.

[PirateLover]

ohmighosh!!!! How terrible! I'm glad that she seems ok, I hope it stays that way!! You should still get her checked out when you get a chance just to be safe. Not a fun thing to happen on Christmas Eve, thats for sure.

[kakn7294]

I called the emergency vet and they said that as long as there's no broken skin, she'll be fine. They do recommend calling the regular vet on Wednesday, perhaps for a rabies booster but her last one was only a year ago so she should be fine there too. It didn't actually appear rabid - no foaming at the mouth and it was calmly walking around and not acting mean after the dog came inside. We certainly provided the entertainment for our houseful of company!

[BronxTigger]

That is crazy. And the raccoon had the nerve to stare down your DH and then stick around at your house? The nerve! That's how the mice are here in NYC...they'll have staring contests with you! When did the animals stop running away from people?

Glad to hear the dog is okay. Let us know how things turn out.

[The Bookseller]

Talk about a scary night! Mucho -Grade in the hope that the shaggy protected her against the raccoon's teeth. The last thing you need at Christmas is a sick Doggie.

[kakn7294]

Well, upon further inspection of her skin, I did find a small spot where the raccoon drew blood. I guess I'll definately be calling the vet Wednesday!

[The Bookseller]

In that case let's add more to be sure. Since you have kept doggie's vaccination in order, I am sure that she's safe.

It is amazing how we discover the value of things when we come close to lose them, right? Looks like there's an for dogs out there and that he was around tonight.

[dmosher]

Generally, day or night it is easy to tell if a Raccoon is rabid by more than just them attacking a dog. True if you see it in the day time it is pretty much a give in, but with our taking over forests, etc smaller creatures are forced into our areas and sadly are getting more and more territorial in the process. SOunds to me like it was a case of right place wrong time for your poor pooch.

Glad to see you found your true love for the dog even if it does drive yah nuts.


D

[Here we go again...]

That is crazy. And the raccoon had the nerve to stare down your DH and then stick around at your house? The nerve! That's how the mice are here in NYC...they'll have staring contests with you! When did the animals stop running away from people?

Glad to hear the dog is okay. Let us know how things turn out.

I had heard stories about the mice in NYC... I hope I never run into one.

Well, upon further inspection of her skin, I did find a small spot where the raccoon drew blood. I guess I'll definately be calling the vet Wednesday!

I am sorry to hear about your dog. (but glad to hear that you realized how much you like it)
Let us know what the vet says. Even though the raccoon was not foaming at the mouth it could still have rabies. It sure sounds like something was wrong with it.... they usually run from people.

[SBETigg]

Goodness, how scary! I would say there's a good chance the raccoon had rabies considering the level of aggression. I'm glad your dog's shots are up-to-date, what a relief. It's a good reminder to keep up with the vaccinations. You never know what could happen and rabies is something you don't want to fool around with. I'm glad you or the DH wasn't hurt in trying to save the dog. Hugs for the frightening experience!

[Ed]

I had heard stories about the mice in NYC... I hope I never run into one.

If you think that's bad, I often run into a HUGE mouse in a certain theme park a few miles northwest of me...

Fortunately, he's usually on his best behavior.

As dmosher pointed out, animal incursions into heavily populated areas are becoming more and more common as development wipes out their home environment. Down here, the biggest problem is with something a little larger than raccoons - - black bears!

Glad to hear Maggie wasn't badly injured. Still best to get the vet to check her over, though.

[MsMin]

So glad to hear things were not worse b/c raccoons can be vicious. I asked Rachel b/c she is very familiar w/ coons. She said that your dog is vaccinated against more than you are. That Rabies in coons can stay latent for a while and so they can carry it but show no signs. The behavior is unusual for most run away but if he has had a habit of going there for food or felt cornered that could cause him to attack but often its a sick coon that is aggressive. She said to watch for signs of infection and that while rabies can be contracted from a superficial wound more often its from contact in the striated muscle. We just changed our laws here from annual rabies shots to every other year. Rachel says some states are every three years depending on the # of cases. (We've have more in the south and therefore vaccinate more often but there have been very few cases in recent years). Your vet may recommend another vaccine so do make sure you check with your vet. I've heard her say before that even the fleas on a coon can carry other parasites. I'm glad none of you were bit. Let us know how Maggie does.

[JessicaRabbit]

Oh NO! How frightening!

Here's some for Maggie and your family to keep everyone safe and healthy from that raccoon!

[RenDuran]

Kiss Maggie's shaggy head for me! Glad she didn't get injured. One little shot will be easy enough for her!

My cat, who's up-to-date on his vaccines, recently got in a tussle with an unknown animal, and the vet gave him another rabies shot just to be safe. It's cheap insurance against something that could be fatal.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday!

[poeticeclipse]

How scary! I have a miniature schnazuer as well and I can only imagine the sight of a raccoon on him!

I love raccoons and DH and I even adopted one for about a week and a half when he found a baby one outside working. They can be perfect pets if raised properly but when they are wild they can be very dangerous.

Please please keep us posted on you dog. I pray that everything is alright.

[Crystal Palace]

I usually love all animals, but what a mean little beast!! How horrible! I hope your poor little guy is okay!!

[kakn7294]

Maggie goes to the doctor at 3:15p today for a rabies booster. I'm going to give her a haircut and bath before we go - she'll love that. So far, no sign of the little beast coming back but Maggie is leary about going out into the yard then has to search every inch once she's out there.

[dolphinmickey9170]

Give Maggie hugs and kisses from me and I hope all is well. Keep an eye out for that raccoon. If he comes back I would call animal control.

[murphy1]

Oh my gosh, poor Maggie and poor you! You know how much I love dogs (mine is my screen name). It sounds like she'll be okay. Thank God!

[kakn7294]

Well, we're home from the vet - unfortunately I got the vet I didn't like - I had a feeling it would be him! He's rather blunt and condescending plus he's from Poland and has a heavy accent that makes him difficult to understand. Anyway, he gave her a rabies booster and an antibiotic. He said she should be fine but she's under quarantine for 90 days and it will be a year before she's entirely cleared from a rabies standpoint. He told us we should have captured or killed the raccoon so it's brain could have been sent off for analysis - well duh, but we don't own any weapons of any sort and I wasn't about to go pick it up!