Posted on 06/10/2002 8:41:48 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Raccoon attacks girl, 6, as she plays with friends
The Associated Press
6/10/02 5:40 PM
GEORGETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A raccoon attacked a 6-year-old girl in front of several friends, biting her 10 times after jumping on her back.
Samantha Ortiz of Georgetown Township, which is near Jenison in eastern Ottawa County, was walking on a bicycle trail with five friends about 6:30 p.m. Friday when she looked back and saw the raccoon.
She said she moved to the side of the trail to let the animal pass, but it jumped on her back and started biting.
"I put my hand down and it was biting me. It was growling like a dog and biting me all over," Samantha told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Monday. "Maybe he smelled chicken 'cause I didn't wash my hands after I ate."
Samantha said she was scared because her friends ran away when the raccoon attacked.
"I didn't know if it was going to kill me," she said.
When the animal tried to bite her toes, the girl said she put one of her friend's bikes on top of the raccoon and ran home.
Her mother, Dee Cardero, said she was hysterical when she heard Samantha screaming.
"I ran and opened the front door and saw blood all over her," Cardero said.
Samantha had bites on her hands, arms and legs. She was treated at Spectrum Health Butterworth hospital, where she received rabies shots in the area of each bite.
The series of shots will continue for a month, her parents said.
On a more serious note, my sister is hand-raising a baby raccoon at this very minute. His name is Jimmy, how cute. Apparently his mother ended up as roadkill and my darling nephew brought home the little orphan.
I'll have to email this thread to her.
Possums carry a central nervous system parasite
that causes a disese in horses called
Equine Protozoal Myoencephalitis or EPM...
Sarcocystis neurona is spread in possum excrement..
Check your hay bales, if you have them, and discard any that have suspicious spoor..
They don't call them "varmints" for nothin'...
Did anyone notice that Martha Moxley and Elizabeth Smart kinda looked alike. The girls have an X and Z in their names respectively.As yourself "Y". What are the odds?
And what's with this Padilla. Does he have a headlight out????
Foil hats anyone?
That has not been my experience with coons. - I have found them to be fairly gentile, if a bit demanding, and quite intelligent.
I strongly suspect that the subject coon was indeed rabid. - The big problem with them is that they are omnivorous, and often end up eating something rabid.
I know of a few Arminians here that say that about you ;o)
Oh well, I can take it [grin].
Your coon is a female with a litter; that is when they hiss. - We have them looking in our patio door frequently, trying to get the cat's attention.
Thank God for those shots. That poor kid would probably die without them. And, they are not as horrible as they used to be.
You're priceless!
Whooops...many states have laws about this...sometimes you're actually supposed to call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator (I kid you not)...States with strong anti-rabies laws would be the ones which might levy a hefty fine on your kind-hearted sister if the wrong person found out and tattled...
I knew a woman who had a raccoon as a pet. It had been neutered. She said that "whole" they are considered dangerous, especially in breeding season. Because the Animal Rights Wackos have so damaged how America deals with animals, trapping in many areas which would control increases of wild animals has been stopped or hindered and rabies has soared. One of the seals in Revelation is that people would be subjected to the "beasts of the field" and that could well include bears and wolves released into the wild now.
Some time ago I found a website about people who raised large wild animals, like cougars and other big cats. They had an extensive section picturing the gear that was needed to handle the animals, size of pistol, and other equipment. There was also an explicit article advising anyone considering raising wild animals to do some research and see if you want your life transformed by the experience. They require lots of care and can turn on you at any time and kill you. Even every day handlers were told to never turn their back on a big cat. A bull can kill you, even if raised as a pet. It is naive to think something wild would not. Wild = Wild.
Someone mentioned an animal that sounds like a woman or a child screaming, that could be a panther.
Talking about vicious domesticated animals, don't forget geese! LOL! Those critters have sawtooth bills! Our gander got hold of my jeans, once, and BEAT me with his wings! Left bruises!
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