Charley and I were on our usual walk but this time we ran into a little critter hiding in the bushes. I wasn’t aware of it until Charley jumped. I heard a little commotion and she started towards whatever was hiding in the bushes and I followed to see what it was. I thought at first it was a dog but as soon as I got in view I saw the masked bandit face of a raccoon. Hissing.

Charley was extremely interested and had locked eyes with this raccoon, both totally frozen. Charley’s tail was wagging, sort of, and this raccoon did not look too happy. I immediately told her no, to get away, that it was bad. I told her “that’s a raccoon. You don’t go near one of those. Let’s go.” I think by the tone of my voice she got the general idea.

Much to her disappointment we made our way back on our walk, but she was very interested in every bush she came across, jumping at the sound of squirrels scaling poles and birds flying up above.

I wanted to know exactly what would’ve happened if she had met the raccoon and I didn’t have a chance to intervene so I looked it up.

It is not pretty.

How does a raccoon attack?

From http://www.dogster.com, by Dr. Eric Barchas, a raccoon will act out when it attacks a dog. It will attempt to scratch out the dog’s eyes, and then roll the dog on it’s back and attempt to “eviscerate” it.

They bite and scratch at alarming speeds, and their claws are tiny but very sharp. Their bites can penetrate the chest which can lead to collapsed lungs.

Septic peritonitis

They can also penetrate the abdomen leading to septic peritonitis. From http://www.mayoclinic.org, “Peritonitis is a serious condition that starts in the abdomen. That’s the area of the body between the chest and the pelvis. Peritonitis happens when the thin layer of tissue inside the abdomen becomes inflamed. The tissue layer is called the peritoneum. Peritonitis usually happens due to an infection from bacteria or fungi.”

Peritonitis is described by the World Health Organization (www.who.int) as “a serious condition that starts in the abdomen.” Sepsis is described by jamanetwork.com as defining a life threatening organ dysfunction.

Basically, once being punctured by a raccoon there is more susceptibility to getting an infection due to bacteria and maybe facing organ dysfunction. That’s pretty serious.

When do they attack?

Raccoon attacks almost always at night and early so dog owners need to watch out if they let their dog out at night to go to the bathroom. Charley and I weren’t out at night, and it was somewhat of a sunny morning, so it surprised me for I’ve not seen a raccoon that close to me at 9 o clock a.m. An odd thing is when we were going back home we passed the same bush, and lo and behold, there was the raccoon in the same place staring at us as we walked by. Charley did a little hop hop play-with-me thing but needless to say that didn’t happen.

It’s very rare for a raccoon to seek out the family dog but they will attack if being threatened, and especially if they have their young around, or if they have rabies. But even if your dog isn’t trying to harm the raccoon it will still act out. http//:www.dogsbestlife.com

Raccoons are especially viscous towards cats. They like cat food so be careful not to leave any cat food outside because you’ll probably entice raccoons. And a cat is less likely to survive a raccoon attack.

What to do if your dog is attacked

If your dog gets into it with a raccoon take them to the vet and call the animal control department ASAP. Things can go south really quick, according to http//:dogsbestlife.com.

So attacks from raccoons are rare they are not uncommon. Even a little scuffle needs to be attended to right away.