Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Raccoon adventure at Autobahn Auto


An hour before closing today, me and my employee Nathan stood in the back shop by my tool box. He looked suddenly past me and said "Oh kitten. Oh no, raccoon."

I turned to look, thinking he is kidding me. Just a few feet away, this raccoon toddler walked, drunk like, around the shop.

A few weeks ago we discovered a dead, adult raccoon in the dungeons, which is the far back part of the shop where we keep parts cars stacked on top of one another. That part of the shop is a add on, accessible by a heavy door. We call that part the dungeons because there is no lights there, just some daylight through a window and some holes in the roof.

So here was this raccoon baby walking around us, no different than a tame puppy. He looked like he was near death, he walked slow, not scared of us, tipping over a few times. His fur was wet, he looked skinny. While my business partner rushed in with a box, Nathan called animal control. We feared he might get away and die in the shop. We all had the same thought, exercise our human power to save this poor creature.



The box scared the poor baby and he came to life, standing on his hind legs screaming. Then he walked away and stood by the door to the dungeons which I had closed after going in there an hour earlier. Nathan and I decided to open the door to see if he would lead us to more baby raccoons in need. Once in there, he crawled in the darkest corner behind a car, crying and trying to climb the vehicles.

I got a flashlight and climbed to the car stacked on top of it. There I sighted the face of another baby raccoon behind the front seats. In the meanwhile, the other raccoon walked back to the front of the shop where he just sat and waited like a puppy outside a store. We walked right by him several times and that didn't bother him at all.

Animal control showed up and now Nathan and I felt saver, these guys know what they're doing, right? He put the one in a cage and suggested putting up traps. He feared, we open the car door and they might jump in his face (or ours.)

After offering our help, the animal control guy agreed to try to recover the raccoons. I got onto the roof of the two pile car, he handed me his gizmo, a stick and handle that looked like one of those light bulb changing devices but with a claw. The man held a cage below the door while I opened it and fished for the second baby raccoon. By the time I was done, there were 4 baby raccoons in the cage.

Another animal control officer rushed to the scene. The lady admired our catch, but suggested separating the fallen dirty one.He was being licked and hugged by the others who were happy to see him. The lady opened the cage and reached in with her bare hands, picking up the one like a cat picks up her kittens. She even cleaned him and he loved it.


These baby raccoons had no way to get down from the cars inside the shop, had it not been for the one baby falling down from the car, we would have not noticed them until they died.

7 comments:

  1. Good job!

    Look up Raccoon Willie on youtube for some fun videos!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't believe that woman officer picked up the raccoon in her bare hands. I guess she doesn't know that raccoons are a prime carrier of rabies.

    We had a similar incident yesterday. We trapped a huge male raccoon in our yard, one that has been trying to get into our house via the screen windows. I was glad to see the end of him!

    ReplyDelete
  3. When I lived in SW Florida, we'd see sick raccoons all the time. They'd either have distemper or rabies. No way would anyone ever pick one up with bare hands!

    They would also get into attics and rip through screened lanais. A pair got into one lanai and killed a parrot and two parakeets. Another attacked a resident and she had to have over 60 stitches on her head and face.

    Although these little creatures look harmless and cute, I'd still be wary of handling them. And, keep on the lookout for more!

    Mary
    http://www.marycunninghambooks.com
    http://www.cynthiasattic.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ha, I could see Nathan petting it thinking it is a cat. Then it would bite his little finger off. I would have a brother with nine fingers :-D, That raccoon has nine lives,while Nathan has nine fingers.

    -Seth Stojiljkovic

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  5. You are my hero! It warms my heart to know that there are still people out there who would rather help than harm.

    We had a dog for years that my mom found when some idiot was trying to destroy a litter. He had doused them in gasoline and was about to set them on fire when one escaped. My mom found "Mitzi" and we had her for about 15 years. Don't know about the other puppies, but people like that don't deserve to live.

    You guys, did great!

    Karen
    http://klsyed.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. The adults were all outside, but the kidswere all inside, and the kitchen was a popular place and no place for aphysical message. She then started yelling about me following her and its none ofmy business, etc.
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    The adults were all outside, but the kidswere all inside, and the kitchen was a popular place and no place for aphysical message. She then started yelling about me following her and its none ofmy business, etc.

    ReplyDelete