This morning the dogs woke me up before my allotted 10 hours of sleep were up (hey, I’m pregnant, and I have a cold) with a crazy barking fit outside. I banged on the window, which sometimes snaps Stanley out of a barking spree, but he just kept going. And going. And going.
So finally, I got up out of bed and peeked out the bathroom window. Stanley was sitting under one of the maple trees, looking up and barking. It was pretty obvious something was up there, and he wouldn’t hush until it was gone.
I pulled on some pajama pants and a hoodie and went outside to check it out. At first, I thought the animal in the tree was a big gray cat. But as I got closer, I saw the twinkling, intelligent eyes of a raccoon. His expression as he looked at me said, “What fresh hell is this?”
With me under the tree outside the fence, the raccoon decided to try his luck in the other direction. He started climbing out on the skinny upper limbs, trying to reach the neighboring maple tree (not that it would do him much good, as it’s also inside the fence). As he began to wobble, I worried he would fall, and Stanley – looking very determined – and Millie – looking insanely excited – would attack him. I’ve heard raccoons can be vicious fighters, so I was worried for my dogs as well as him.
Still, I was kind proud of my dogs for doing something rugged outdoorsy dogs do – instead of being little princess powderpuffs. I admit I was feeling all Billy-from-Where the Red Fern Grows, except I wasn’t planning to shoot the raccoon and make a hat out of him.
Finally, I decided to go inside the fence because I thought I might be able to distract the dogs, or at least get Millie out of there. But my presence under the other side of the tree sent the raccoon creeping back in the other direction, toward safety.
He climbed down to one of the lower branches and let his weight bend it as close to the ground as possible, until he could finally jump down and take off like a shot for the treeline.
This upset Stanley, who paced the fence, barking and trying to find a way to escape and chase after it. I petted him and told him he did a good job scaring off that raccoon, but he doesn’t understand much English.
Millie was easier to tame. I said, “You want to go in the house?” and she immediately jumped up in my arms.
After I took her inside, I brought Stanley out a treat and told him he was a good dog, and that pretty much settled the issue.
What that raccoon was doing sneaking around inside a fence with two dogs, I’ll never know, but I bet he won’t be back!
And don’t worry about me either – I made up for my lost sleep by napping for three hours on the couch. Working from home is nice that way.
