Posted on 11/17/2006 1:04:55 PM PST by kiriath_jearim
LOS ANGELES -- One balmy summer night, Larna Hartnack awoke to the cries of her dog Charlie and, to her horror, found the Dalmatian in a battle for her life -- pinned by a gang of raccoons that tore into her flesh and nearly gnawed off her tail.
Charlie survived. But recurring raccoon attacks on dogs and other creatures have unnerved people along the Venice Canals, a funky, well-to-do beach neighborhood packed with ardent dog lovers, many of whom are now afraid to walk their pets at night or leave them alone in the back yard.
Communities around the country are plagued by destructive or aggressive raccoons, and many of them routinely trap, remove and even kill the animals. But this being California, the city's animal-control agency is instead urging people to try to get along with the raccoons -- a notion that strikes some as political correctness gone wild.
"What we're trying to inculcate in the L.A. community is a reverence for life. If we have more reverence for life, it translates into all our programs -- for women and infants, the elderly and everybody in our community," said Ed Boks, the head of Los Angeles Animal Services.
"As we develop these programs that demonstrate our compassion for creatures completely at our mercy, it makes for a more compassionate society all the way around."
Wildlife experts are commending the city for resisting demands to remove the raccoons. No-kill policies are rare among animal-control agencies in the U.S., and most apply only to dogs and cats. In Los Angeles, rabies in raccoons is not as big a threat as it is in other parts of the country, and there may be more sympathy for wildlife.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
Looks like a Catahoula to me.
Plott Hound.
/jasper
One thing I would really like to see: A white guy running through certain parts of L.A. screaming, "The 'coons are coming! The 'coons are coming!"
Cute but mean and bold. And rabid, of course.
I once went camping and woke up to one digging in the pocket of my knapsack (which was under my head because I was using it as a pillow) looking for a totally sealed plastic container of butter I had in the pocket. No fear!
I was camping on the CA coast years back and during the night 2 coons got into some sort of fight. The most awful screeching screams I have ever heard and I didn't sleep too well that night.
That reminds me of a time while camping in the Okefenokee swamp when a whole raccoon family worked together. The babies did a playful dance to entertain the campers while the mom was busy raiding the food boxes. It was a well orchestrated act, and very successful!
"Ah, the strawberries! That's where I had them!"
Actually, come to think of it, there were a bunch of baby raccoons hanging out on a tree near our camp...clearly a coordinated action!
Gawdamighty. These people really are insane. Idiots need to kill those overgrown rats.
A squirt bottle of ammonia solution will keep them at bay. A super soaker is better for longer range.
I used to have a Plott. Smartest nose, dumbest dog ever.
LOL
You must have got the "clunker" of the litter.
/jasper
ping
On second thought, it was smart enough to jump up on my ex brother-in-law who was sleeping on the couch at the time and pee on his face.
He was smarter than I tought.
thought
I had a momma and kid coon literally pry the boards off where I had repaired the roof after the first break in.
They are not cute, they are vicious.
Ca.. Ca.. Can't we all just get along...
Great picture of the lodge brothers in post #5. Har-de-har-har.
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