Rabies is a, terrible, *terrible* thing.
Her babies were just about gone anyway and she too was rabid yet she kept coming back to protect them from me.
She actually stood up between them and me and raised her paws in what appeared to be a warding gesture.
It was heartbreaking.
I *had* to put them out of their obvious agony but other than going after my dogs to keep them away from her kids and putting herself between me and them, she didn’t seem that ‘abnormal’.
[frankly, I expected them to test positive and her to be negative but that’s not how it worked out]
It was a horrible choice I had to make but a necessary one.
I would love to forget it but it’s apparently going to stay with me for a long time.
I pray to God I never have to do something like that again.
A huge mountain lion or bear charging you is one thing; an early stage rabid coon mama protecting her dying babies is another.
Even in her horrible sickness, she was a mother, to the end.
It was not a ‘triumphant’ moment in my life.
[and *all* of this came about because the idiot up on the hill started feeding hordes of stray, unvaccinated cats 20 lb bags of food every evening, attracting every possible rabies vector down off the mountains and into our yards. we’ve had a verified epidemic here for several years]
You did what you had to. Knowing how you are with animals, I was expecting stories of pet ‘coons, not this.
Nor was mine, As you can see, I tried everything I could to distract it from charging out from beneath the vehicle and attacking my feet while I tried to secure the boat.
It was somewhat unsteady, but relentless. I even managed to use my boot to flip it on its back a couple of times when it got close. Every time, it got back up and charged directly for my feet again.
But when it didn't even blink when I splattered its face with sand & gravel with the .22, I knew I had no choice. I couldn't drive with the boat unsecured, so I put it down with a single shot. It apparently never knew what hit it, I hope so, at least...
Triumph -- no. Relief -- yes.