Comments on: Flyer warns of raccoon attack

By: wayneholmes1

wayneholmes1 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:43:40 +0000

Run, run for your very lives! The rabid raccoons are coming and killing or mauling everything in their path. Arrgghh!

By: chrisraccoon

chrisraccoon — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:47:24 +0000

nice raccoons very cool

By: Name

Name — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:14:23 +0000

Hire somebody? Kill the damn things! If you are worried about “animal lover” nosey neighbors buy a cheap .22 rifle – they are practically silent. These disgusting rats are overpopulated to the max, so don't feel the least bit bad.

By: Name

Name — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:11:56 +0000

Kill them with a headshot of a quiet .22 caliber – works GREAT. Killed about 40 of them over the past two years…

By: yacman

yacman — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:16:16 +0000

If the chances were as high as 1% I would agree with you. You might want to check the following references:

http://www.nwcphp.org/docs/rabies/Rabepi.html#inWA

http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehsphl/factsheet/rabiesfc...

http://www.doh.wa.gov/notify/nc/rabies.htm

Quoting the last reference:

"Two human cases of rabies have been reported in Washington in the past 50 years, one in 1995 and one in 1997 (MMWR 1997;46(33):770–4). Both were due to bat rabies variants.

Bats are the primary reservoir for rabies in Washington State. Bats carrying rabies have been found in almost every county in Washington State....In other parts of the United States, Canada and Mexico, reservoirs include foxes, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, and dogs."

In my opinion, rabies preventative shots are unnecessary in Washington State, unless the animal involved is a bat.

Yacman

By: SPG

SPG — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:58:04 +0000

The rabies treatment is standard precaution when an animal like this attacks people. A raccoon attacking a person isn't common in a healthy animal, but is with rabid animals. This one could be 50-50 since there was another small animal in the mix, but would you want to take the risk? Even if the chance that the animal is rabid is only 1%, I'll still suffer the shots since if it is rabid and you don't get the shots, you will die. Rabies is 100% fatal in humans.

By: yacman

yacman — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:16:42 +0000

I'm a little confused as to why you have to be treated with anti-rabies shots since the raccoons in Washington State don't carry rabies. (bats do, but not raccoons.)

I had a raccoon get into my house and go right through my sliding glass door to escape smashing it to pieces.

Here is an account of the incident:
http://dangblog.wordpress.com/2007/09/30/night-...

By: motorrad

motorrad — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:38:34 +0000

Best wishes on a speedy recovery for all of you. I hope Bee isn't permanently traumatized and will be able to go outside without freaking out.

By: motorrad

motorrad — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:03:58 +0000

X-all flatulence, no substance.

By: Geeky Swedes

Geeky Swedes — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:14:34 +0000

We have the updated story as well:

http://www.myballard.com/2009/09/13/ballard-fam...

By: Silver

Silver — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:02:35 +0000

What was the verdict? Did all three turn out to be girls?

By: Ballardmom

Ballardmom — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:55:09 +0000

Raccoons who stalk and kill chickens are just acting completely normal. Chickens are a big tasty treat for raccoons and the fact that one managed to catch and kill one is very sad, but very normal and not at all indicative of rabies or bizarre raccoon behavior. We have chickens and it took less than 12 hours before the raccoons arrived hoping to get a gourmet meal. Having chickens in the city means having to make a coop and run worthy of Alcatraz.

By: Ballardmom

Ballardmom — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:51:15 +0000

That's actually pretty comforting. Especially because I see a lot of raccoons out during the day in the city and in the country it used to be that raccoons who weren't afraid of humans and were out in the day were considered rabid. I guess city raccoons are just different from country raccoons. Thanks for the stats!

By: Captain Bligh

Captain Bligh — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:49:02 +0000

From reading the description of the incident on KOMO's website I really hope that animal is not rabid. I'm also worried about it infecting other raccoons.

Does anyone know how long a rabid animal, specifically a raccoon, can live before the disease kills it?

I do feel for the family!

By: xaphaeod

xaphaeod — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:58:59 +0000

Honestly, I was just surprised that anyone expected the city to do anything – about anything. I've lived here a long time, and in recent years have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the city's so-called “leaders” primary mission is just to make life increasingly difficult for residents. The idea that they would actually come and HELP someone solve a problem seems unrealistic. If pressed on the issue, I would expect the city to take the position that the raccoon was in the right.

By: thrilla38

thrilla38 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:14:47 +0000

There is an updated story on KOMO's Ballard site:

http://ballard.komonews.com/content/raccoon-att...

I heard some cat screams this weekend and, after reading this post quickly ran to check. Luckily, it was just our mean alley cat bullying a neighbor cat.

By: Name

Name — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:11:12 +0000

This story is true. I have seen their bites and scratches. The family is okay, and they are getting rabies shots.

By: Emperorp

Emperorp — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:02:48 +0000

“OK, I guess you must be one of the new arrivals that have so enhanced our quality of life.”

Quite the reponse (attitude?) there. I'm a concerned neighbor who has not had to think about dealing with raccoons in a more serious way. I was looking for a little more information from my neighbors. Let's be a little more neighborly…

By: ducksinseattle

ducksinseattle — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:02:24 +0000

Good grief, that's a terrible misadventue! Very sorry to hear about this. I've been rather nonchalant about the raccoons, simply thinking that if we take the right precautions we'll be okay. To hear your story of a raccoon agressively coming after your little dog, and then even after being thwarted, that it returned to bite you as well, is just downright scary! I certainly don't blame you for being concerned for your baby as well. I sincerely wish you luck in getting rid of this raccoon monster!

By: xaphaeod

xaphaeod — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:38:15 +0000

Jeeze, touched a nerve there, I see. Don't be so sensitive, newcomer. Besides, what the hell does any of your straw-man rant have to do with raccoons?

BTW, if you read below, you'll see that the person who was actually attacked by this varmint agrees that the city didn't — and won't — do a damn thing. Well, surprise, surprise, surprise!

By: Joanna S.

Joanna S. — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:12:49 +0000

I am one of the people attacked by the raccoon in this story. It was totally unprovoked- our 8 pound yorkie was hanging out in the backyard when the raccoon came over the fence an chased her up onto the deck, and then attacked her. I then grabbed the raccoon by the neck, and my husband heard the commotion and came out and threw it across the lawn, at which point it doubled back and bit me on the leg. My husband then hit it on the head with a flashlight, and it ran away.
The flashlight was out becuase I check the yard for predators every night before leting the dog out. Didn't help.
My husband got 20 shots (they have to infiltrate the wound with immunoglobulin) and I got about 10. We have to get four more rounds of shots over the next few weeks (but not as many every time). The dog was vaccinated, so she only got one shot.
The people from the city were very nice, but the above commenters are right- they won'tdo anything for you. If you want the raccoons dealt with, you have to pay a private trapper. We saw the raccoon again last night, with a raccoon buddy, so we're going to hire whoever we need to to deal with the problem. We have a 2 week old baby plus the dog, and don't want to be afraid to hang out in our own backyard.

By: motorrad

motorrad — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:35:53 +0000

I thought that is how the Ballard natives, the only ones that count, preferred it. No government intrusion, no government programs. No environmental agency making stupid rules that they feel entitled to ignore anyway. There certainly are enough examples of that in the forums. Oh wait, I guess the Ballard native elites do get help after all, the goose gassing eradication program, being GIVEN a railroad line on public land, private use of public land another. Ah, the wonderful smell of self centered double standards.

By: AlonzoNeighbor

AlonzoNeighbor — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:10:20 +0000

The media was just on Alonzo looking for more on the story. This is pretty distressing. The raccoons that have been coming through our yard haven't messed with the cats, but we will now pay closer attention. The house across the street has a pit bull that sustained injuries from an attack a few years back. Who would have thought?

By: xaphaeod

xaphaeod — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:29:12 +0000

You're joking, right? OK, I guess you must be one of the new arrivals that have so enhanced our quality of life. So just FYI, here's how Seattle works:

No, the city won't do anything. They'll actually tell you not to disturb the raccoons. If you do anything to inconvenience them, you can be fined.

Remember, the city and its government is not here to help you with anything, make your life better, provide services, make it easier for you to work, live, etc. Raccoons and bums are much higher priorities than the people who live here and who work and contribute.

By: ducksinseattle

ducksinseattle — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:03:08 +0000

When trying to decide between getting ducks or chickens, the fact that ducks love slugs and snails was one of the deciding factors. Besides the fact that duck eggs are delicious, ducks are quieter, and Khaki Campbell ducks actually lay more eggs than any breed of chickens. And ducks are cuter, IMHO. The ducks waddle around the yard, sticking their bills under ferns and hostas, and then make a really cute sound, almost like purring, when they find a nest of snails or slugs. Their bills do far less damage to a yard than chicken beaks do.

By: Emperorp

Emperorp — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:39:30 +0000

The story is true. It was my friend's brother and his wife. I too feel for them given what you hear about the treatment of rabies. Too bad the racoon got away so it couldn't be tested. The account from my friend struck me because there was a racoon stalking the chickens near 70th and 12th, attacked one that died a few days later and the question of rabies arose there too. (Though of course just the battle with the racoon might have killed it!) Does anyone know if the city can take care of racoons once they attack people. In the case with the chicken we heard that neighbors need to take care of the problem themselves, but it wasn't clear if that just applied when they weren't attacking people.

By: James_Fitzpatrick

James_Fitzpatrick — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:39:59 +0000

That tri-dog would give Chuck Norris a run for his money. and then it would lose, however, if tri-dog had a Chuck Norris twin at it's side, that is a match that could favor the 5 legged duo.

By: motorrad

motorrad — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:18:59 +0000

Wow! That is a Bad A$$ 3 legged little monster! I would love to meet it. After all this doom and gloom I have been spreading. That dog is either a wicked skilled combat fighter or a real wussy of a raccoon that is still getting dissed by his raccoon buddies for getting his a$$ kicked by a little dog with only 3 legs. The shame would be unbearable. That raccoon is lucky that dog didn't have 4 legs. Little dog was probably pumping so much adrenalin it could have made me jump the Locks. When it sees a raccoon now does it jump at em to make it flinch?

By: motorrad

motorrad — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:03:19 +0000

OMG JR terrier. Growling, yapping. playful, HYPER Napoleon complex on 4 paws. Nuthin' personal I'm juss sayin'! I enjoy them but know my limits. I thought my Australian shepherd pup was a handful until I spent time with JRs. Especially with a JR terrier I would walk the yard first. My experience has shown a JR terrier won't back down from any fight, and if the threatening animal is bigger they go BATSHIT with full on strike hard first mentality. So if the raccoon is bigger and threatening to the dogs ego, it is ON. And they don't seem to walk away when they are beat, they just keep fighting. Entertaining fun dogs but with interesting quirks. Generalizations but correct me if I am wrong.

The yard we had was fenced with only a couple exit points so raccoons could easily be surprised with my Aussie between them and a safe exit point. That is worst case scenario.

Funny about the cat-raccoon standoff/truce.

By: Edog

Edog — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:57:33 +0000

Its funny. My 70 pound lab mix would probably get f*ck'ed up in a fight with a raccoon, but my 35 pound purebred fox terrier was a mother f*cking killer with no remorse. Once that little stud was riled he was a like some monster gangster from a Tarantino film – god rest his soul.