Hi Claire,
 
I apologize for possibly misconstruing the nature & intent of this
raccoon.  I must admit that of the limited experience I have with
raccoons,they have been on the negative side - I guess my slip was
showing on that one!  I suppose it's the same kind of prejudice people
display when asked what they think of our favorite mustelid; those
"stinky rats", who "bite all the time", and murder innocent babies &
such, that we all love so much.
 
Other than the breaking & entering incident I wrote of yesterday, my only
other raccoon encounters have been with rabid ones running around during
the daytime, & some rather aggressive trashpickers I have seen in my
neighborhood (perhaps because they were aggresive, they were rabid too?
I dunno, but in all cases animal control does get called, just in case).
Given my own ferrets' enthusiasm for home decorating projects, I can
only imagine how excited they were when someone much bigger than them was
not only willing to allow them to rearrange the furniture, but actively
participate in it!  Dook dook dook!  Think of the mess we all could make
TOGETHER!!!  Woo hoo!!!
 
In hindsight, I suppose one of the very real possibilities present
in this situation was that the ferrets (with their famous habit of
"sharking" through the fur of my dog & cats, with the often unhappy
reaction of the "sharkee") would take the same approach with the raccoon
& perhaps incur its wrath...with all of its potential negative results
(bites, massacre, disease transmission, etc.).  I am simply thankful
that we were able to nip such a situation in the bud.
 
I am glad to hear that you have achieved a sort of "symbiosis" with the
raccoons in your neighborhood - I hope it continues to work well for
you.  We here in Plymouth have been undergoing a bit of a building boom,
with all of its positive & negative side effects.  One of the major
negatives is the ever-growing problem of many species of animals being
pushed out of their normal habitats (wooded areas) as land is cleared.
Thus, these animals have to adapt to life with the human population & its
automobiles, outdoor pets, trash, etc.  As a person who loves & respects
all forms of animal life (the term "respect" meant to include my healthy
fear of those animals who could possibly kick my a** or the a**es of my
pets!), I hate to think of some of the cruel choices we are going to have
to make to control the situation in the name of human progress - which I
certainly don't oppose.  My bleeding heart weeps a little when I see a
dead raccoon or fox on the side of the road - but my regular, everyday
heart wept mightily when my beloved, benevolent old kitty Fixwee was
snatched from my own backyard by coyotes.  Such is the problem we
face...but I digress.
 
In closing, I think a bit of paranoia is healthy when dealing with
wild animals, and that's what my original horror at finding this critter
in my house was based upon.  In turn, thank you for your thoughtful,
measured post - and for correcting my ignorance!
 
Jess
 
Jessica Manson Morton
Whimsy Creative Photography!
28 Stafford St.
Plymouth, MA 02360
(508) 747-5505
[log in to unmask]
www.whimsyphoto.com
[Posted in FML issue 4499]