Close Encounters of the 4 Legged Kind

[OBIO]

I just had Brutus, our 13 pound Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix, out for a final potty trip for the night before I turn in and get some sleep. Took him across the driveway to the guard rail...he likes marking the posts. Well, there we were at the third post from the left end of the guard rail and Brutus was giving the post a sniffing to see if it needed remarked. I heard a faint scuffling sound in the Tulip Poplar tree right behind the guard rail. I look up...and I am nearly face to face with a Raccoon. It is on the back side of the tree, leaning around and looking right at me. Our noses were maybe 2 feet apart. This Raccoon is a nuisance....I don't actually see it all that often, but I do know when it has been about....it climbs up in another Tulip Poplar that I have a bird feeder in and empties it out. I put a couple scoops of bird food in it, the birds eat a bit during the day, then at night this Raccoon comes along and dumps it all out. Brutus, being preoccupied with emptying his bladder, had no clue that he was 6 feet or so away from the Raccoon....he is definitely NOT a coon dog, though he does act like he might be a very good Ground Squirrel dog. Several times a week he will go after the two Ground Squirrels that live in our flower garden....and they are doing a darn good job of turning the flower garden into a scale model of the New York subway system....they have pretty much tunneled every square foot of the garden.

OBIO

[mrogers]

Sounds like yer place's becoming a haven for the wildlife...hehe!

[demorier]

Maybe they like the smell of doggie pee.

[cheezyflier]

coons are worse than possums. nearly always rabid.

[Dangerousdave26]

Lucky you didn't meet his friend Mr. Skunk.

[OBIO]

Lucky you didn't meet his friend Mr. Skunk.

Haven't seen Mr. Skunk up close and personal, but I have smelled him more times that I can count.

OBIO

[Daveroo]

ironic......i went out last night after hearing a scuffle...and i found one of my local racoons sitting in my recliner i have on the deck,,,,fella was quite comffy and was in no mood to see me.and let me know all about it.i shoowed him off and came back in the house and found my cat under the sheets in my bed.......shes brave.....gotta love her

[HouseHobbit]

I had a baby racoon as a young boy, it was a 24 hr a day job, but i was only 12 so that wasn't has hard as today would be..
He grew up to be quite the hand full to say the least..
After a year or two he headed out on his own, and never came back, I was a bit heatbroken..
But I realized he was better off doing racoon things instead of hanging out with a boy..

also had ground hogs and various other wildlife including a deer as quests..
They were a pain to deal with, but in the long run all was well..
To soft hearted...Here anymore..
I gress that is what happens to old hobbits..LOL..