Starbuck found a new “friend” in the yard tonight. I let her outside to do her business, which is usually chasing the rabbits out of the yard. She was outside for about 20 seconds when she started to bark like crazy. I went outside to see what was happening. She was next to one of the trees in the back yard barking her head off. I look up in the tree and I see something, I assume it is a cat. I went inside to get a flashlight and I come outside to find a medium size raccoon in the tree. I took her inside and chased him out of the tree with the water hose. Over an hour later Starbuck is still sniffing around the yard looking for the intruder. I think she thinks he is still up in the tree

She has encountered snakes, lizards, toads, stink beetles, lots of rabbits and birds, horses, donkeys, other dogs and cats. Nothing compared to the raccoon. I don’t know if it was due to the time of day (about 8:00 PM) or if they just smell that different, but she did not like him at all.

I know someone else ran into a bear while on a walk. Feel free to post any stories you have.


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Ha! It's a good thing that she is wary of them- our first dog really did consider them friends. She went running up to a family of them, tail wagging. Luckily, we were nearby enough to prevent them ripping off her face; she just got a few scratches. That was a few years ago. I haven't seen raccoons or coyotes in forever, but once there was a coyote sitting on our lawn in the middle of the day, barking and sniffing at our rabbit x-pen (which was empty at the time, thank god). Raccoons and coyotes don't bother me, a bear on the other hand...

Starbuck isn't currently as young as she is in your sig, is she?

This has nothing to do with your post, but I have to say that everytime I see Starbuck's picture, I just melt! She is so beautiful! Our first dog was a white GSD named Chuto. He was the best (I was in Kindergarten when we got him). I'll have a soft spot for the rest of my life for white GSD's. :-)

i ran into a woman with a stitched up shina inu ,asked what happened,a possum got it,i thought they played dead??she said after the fight it rolled up and played dead.my lab is a sissy ,dont have to worry about it too much

Raccoons are thick on the Monterey Peninsula and there are always stories of dogs of all sizes being attacked. Some are attacked on-lead, owners present, while walking down the street. They'll climb in an open window and go after the family dog or cat.

I don't know if this is only a California law, but here, if your rabies vaccinated dog is bitten by a raccoon you must home-quarantine your dog for 30 days. If your dog is not current on its rabies it's a 6 month quarantine...Holy cr@p!!

They are aggressive, nasty animals who don't back down. If you have one in your yard, have it trapped and moved.

She does have her Rabies shot.

The Raccoon didn't seem sick or aggressive. I think Starbuck startled it and its natural instinct was to run up the tree. If it comes back again I'll think about calling animal control.

 Quote: sarah morris

They'll climb in an open window and go after the family dog or cat.


They are aggressive, nasty animals who don't back down. If you have one in your yard, have it trapped and moved.

I am so glad that I live where I live. Raccoons here are evasive, nocturnal creatures that would rather run up a tree and stare at us and our dogs than attack them.

When I was in North Carolina you could hear the coonhounds chasing their quarry.....not too many dogs get attacked their either. If there were more coons here, I would run coon dogs as well.

I think the above statements may be because their habitat has been "invaded" and they do not have the resources they should in order to be the wild animals they are.