Raccoon Day

Well, today started off interesting. I had just dropped my daughter off at school and went back home to wait to go to work later. While working on the computer the dogs continued their excessive barking, but they were freaking out around the window downstairs. I look over to see the blue healer-pointer mix Gizmo looking up. I run upstairs and find on the window ledge a raccoon. Our windows have a ledge on them that a human can stand on, and at the time a raccoon. It was just hanging out trying to sleep while the dog barks and the cat swatted at the window. It was cute though until it reared its head back and bared its teeth with some strange behavior. It did it for a few secs and then curled back into its cute ball of fluff. 

When I came home from work, it was gone. I was glad because I was a bit worried that something was wrong and I didn’t want the dogs messing with it. My husband came home early, and he let the dogs out. Some time after I hear an animal screaming. I jumped up thinking it was the dogs, but when I looked out the window, it was Gizmo biting down on the raccoons neck. I call my husband and we both go out to get the dogs away from the coon. Dan calls Gizmo over and she comes, but Roxy the corgi continues to bark at it. The raccoon is the money in the middle of me and Roxy for a minute. I pick Roxy up and tell the coon to escape. The poor thing didn’t fight back or anything, he moved himself under our fountain and stayed there until we got back from the vet and picked our daughter up from school. The dogs checked out fine. They had no injuries, they just gave them shots to be safe.

It was when we came home that it became sad. I was hoping the raccoon escaped, but he was too weak to move from under the fountain. The vet told us that it might be sick and we would have to shoot it for the dogs protection. My husband took his gun and shot the poor thing and took care of its body. He was stronger than me; I cried as I watched it suffer. A few moments there he looked at me and I felt like we were killing him for no reason. He wasn’t doing anything wrong; he was just in pain and sick. I understand the circumstance but my heart goes out to animals who are helpless. 

I have a hard time with killing an animal; you kill to eat or to prevent yourself from being killed. I’m not a fan of snakes, and one time I encountered a snake with my daughter. I didn’t know if it was poisonous and its head was up. I killed it to protect my daughter, but I asked god to forgive me for killing the snake. Then I found out that it was a non-poisonous snake which didn’t help me feel better. It was the first animal I ever killed and it still bothers me. I don’t like taking a life even if it’s an animal.

I always wanted to ask hunters about it but never remember to do so. What are your views on it?