Saving my dog

[Adam3084]

.

 

[femurphy77]

Had to shoot a cat once to save a $5000 paint job!

 

[nakinate]

IANAL but I think you should have called the cops yourself to report having to discharge your firearm. That being said you could talk to Liberty Sanders (maybe someone could post a link to the thread?) about what doing the right thing can get you. Within city limits I probably wouldn't use a gun for a raccoon. Kicking it and getting your dog inside would have been sufficient. I'll sit back and watch what everyone else says now.

 

[cobber]

Hope your dog is up on his shots. A few weeks and it's probably too late to do much for rabies if it comes...

 

[bwframe]

I have moved many dozens of coons away with a live traps over the years. Cantaloupe hung from the top catches coons and opossums, yet doesn't attract domestic pets.

 

[jwh20]

Racoons are nasty critters. You did well protecting your property (dog).

 

[Bfish]

I live outside of Terre Haute, but I have a buddy much closer town that has shot a few animals without a problem, I don't know where you live but as long as you aren't on top of your neighbors (and having raccoons maybe not?) most people seem to be pretty cool about that kind of stuff. Out on the east and south side at least from my experience. Buddy that has done this lives off Margaret.

 

[Indyhd]

That's what always happens when you let your dog smoke. Had he been paying attention to the raccoon rather than the cigarette none of this ever would have happened.

I think now is the time for a nicotine patch...don't let it happen again. The ASPCA will be watching.

 

[Longhair]

If it's a run to fifty I applaud you.........


Plus you understand the use of paragraphs are important!!!

 

[Robert Richardson]

If it's a run to fifty I applaud you.........


Plus you understand the use of paragraphs are important!!!

 

[Ryno300]

Years ago I had to fight back a raccoon with a tiki torch in the middle of a rain storm because my dog wouldn't leave it alone. Just got done playing cards, let the dog out for what I thought would be a second to do her duty before bed at 1am. Instead she bolts straight off the porch and into the dark. I see some eye and then hear a hellacious squabble going on. I run down there in time to see my dog grab the coon in her mouth, shake it hard, and fling it towards a wooden privacy fence. That raccoon stuck right to the fence, looked at us and hissed with a wide open mouth. It was ready to fight. A barking German Sheppard and a grown man yelling while swinging a tiki torch were not enough to make him think twice. I ended up hooking the torch around the dogs neck (she shook off her collar when I tried to pull her back) and pulled her back 20 feet or so until she would finally disengage and come toward the house. She ran into the laundry room, shook a water and mud ALL over the room. My wife didn't know what to think waking up to me yelling in the backyard in the middle of a rainstorm. I told her what happened - the only thing she was sure of is I was cleaning up the laundry room and she was going back to bed.

 

[mainjet]

I think that in this case your dog was the aggressor. When you then fired at the raccoon who was only defending itself against a life threatening attack, you became an accomplish to the attack and subsequent murder. I believe the courts would file charges of murder against both you and your cigarette smoking dog.

I would burry the coon body and delete this thread.

 

[olhorseman]

I have moved many dozens of coons away with a live traps over the years. Cantaloupe hung from the top catches coons and opossums, yet doesn't attract domestic pets.

Hate to waste Indiana cantaloupe on racoons. I use marshmallows, but for some reason they don't go after generic brands. Damn elitist animals.

 

[bwframe]

Hate to waste Indiana cantaloupe on racoons. I use marshmallows, but for some reason they don't go after generic brands. Damn elitist animals.

That's some good information. Thanks!

 

[1911ly]

I had a racoon scratching at my back door about a year ago. I thought it was a neighborhood dog. I opened the door to find a small racoon. It hissed at me and my dog bolted past me and tore it a new butt hole. They went round and round for a bit. I could not get the dog to let go. Or it to run away. I ended up shooting the stupid coon. Multiple moving shots to boot. I was about to shoot them both to get the madness to stop!

Freaken blood everywhere. Then, I could not get the dog to let go if the stupid coon. It took 4 good whacks with a 2x2 to get the dog to get it go. And when I went to toss it over the fence the idiot dog grabbed it again!! That got him another whack.

When it was over I figured my dog was hurt. But turns out he's no worse for the wear, just covered in blood. I gave him a bath. Not a mark on him. The coon on the other hand, was a mess. Three 357mag holes inserted in various places & lots of chew marks. He looked healthy other wise. I figured out that he was trying to get to the bag of dog food just in side the back door. It's since been moved.

I live in the country so it was all good

 

[Harleyrider_50]

I had a racoon scratching at my back door about a year ago. I thought it was a neighborhood dog. I opened the door to find a small racoon. It hissed at me and my dog bolted past me and tore it a new butt hole. They went round and round for a bit. I could not get the dog to let go. Or it to run away. I ended up shooting the stupid coon. Multiple moving shots to boot. I was about to shoot them both to get the madness to stop!

Freaken blood everywhere. Then, I could not get the dog to let go if the stupid coon. It took 4 good whacks with a 2x2 to get the dog to get it go. And when I went to toss it over the fence the idiot dog grabbed it again!! That got him another whack.

When it was over I figured my dog was hurt. But turns out he's no worse for the wear, just covered in blood. I gave him a bath. Not a mark on him. The coon on the other hand, was a mess. Three 357mag holes inserted in various places & lots of chew marks. He looked healthy other wise. I figured out that he was trying to get to the bag of dog food just in side the back door. It's since been moved.

I live in the country so it was all good

.....Uhhhh......?
Ain't I read in here......few places......ya mention ya got......kids?......
I'd hate ta.....see whut happens if/when ya tell'em....." GIT OUT'a them cookies !".......


Years ago.......I lit'rally seen a [STRIKE]dude[/STRIKE] azzwipe.......beat a dog ta death.....before I could git my hands on'im ......not the dog......the AZZwipe........

 

[dusty88]

It is odd that the raccoon came after him so I'm going to keep an eye on him to see if he start showing signs of rabies.

for future reference of any dog owners reading this, as well as the OP:

There are legal requirements for a pet bitten by a wild animal that is a known rabies reservoir (this includes raccoons). This should have been reported to the health department either directly or through your vet. The health department would have tested the raccoon for rabies.

If your pet has a potential rabies encounter and is CURRENT on vaccination, the pet can be boostered and thus have an improved chance of fighting off the rabies. You also have a required home quarantine period of 10 days, which is easy to manage on a vaccinated pet.

If he wasn't previously vaccinated, that's worrisome and it would have been especially useful to know if the raccoon was rabid.

Dogs can shed rabies virus in their saliva before they show symptoms, so I would take this seriously.

I will say that is not unusual raccoon behavior though: to get aggressive once attacked.

As far as the legality of shooting the raccoon, I think you had a realistic concern that the raccoon was also a danger to you. I cant comment on the issue of whether your location makes the difference.

So I don't mean to be the downer here, but the legal issue I see isn't the gunshot. If you have an unvaccinated dog and it got in a tussle with a raccoon, you have a different problem (the state is reasonably lenient if your dog was vaccinated in the past and just a bit overdue). If your dog was completely unvaccinated and the raccoon was not submitted for testing, your dog is considered "exposed" to rabies. The legal answer to that is either euthanasia or an expensive 6-month strict isolation.

And from the issue of your personal safety, you have to take this seriously. While I don't find the raccoon's behavior abnormal, the reality is that raccoons can carry rabies and act normal for months before they show symptoms. The percentage of raccoons that carry rabies is probably fairly small (I don't think anyone knows for certain) but the potential consequences are a serious risk to your family.

 

[ModernGunner]

LOL, this is what happens when ya move into the raccoons territory.

 

[SMiller]

Would it have killed someone to quote the op so I had something to read...

 

[Timjoebillybob]

.....Uhhhh......?
Ain't I read in here......few places......ya mention ya got......kids?......
I'd hate ta.....see whut happens if/when ya tell'em....." GIT OUT'a them cookies !".......


Years ago.......I lit'rally seen a [STRIKE]dude[/STRIKE] azzwipe.......beat a dog ta death.....before I could git my hands on'im ......not the dog......the AZZwipe........

You have them little bitty dogs, aka footballs just a bit smaller and fuzzier. People who have real dogs know that sometimes real force might have to be used. What would kill your fuzzy little rats wouldn't have fazed my 110 lb rottie when I had her. Heck she would and did consider it playtime. If she took it into her head to disobey and was attacking something/one it probably would have taken a lot lot more than a couple of whacks with a 2x2 to stop her.