saw that...my coz has feeders for them...the only critters I feed are the birds and squirrels...

That's hilarious! My volunteer firefighter nlaws fostered some baby raccoons whose den was found in a burning building. They probably should have left them at the back of the property for the mother to reclaim, but they were afraid that she would be too afraid to return, and the babies would be attacked by other animals, or wander into the road. They released them when they were old enough to fend for themselves.

They can be so cute, and friendly when raised in captivity, but so destructive!

Very amusing, but I don't feel it's wise to get too chummy or feed wildlife.

I showed that to my husband! That is adorable! Thanks for posting that!

We had a raccoon last winter hanging on our bird feeders in the middle of the night.....the cat let us know about i! :0) Started bringing the feeders in at night....problem solved!

Living peacefully with wildlife.....and people.....it takes some adjusting....but .... JMHO

Your level of success in life can be measured by your tolerance.

marilyn-c - That is amazing! What ever happened to the raccoon? Did it return to the wild?

I love raccoons and had one for a pet for two year. He even went to show and tell at my daughter's kindergarten class. Try doing that today. He played with my kids, lived in a shed ,and we loved him as a family pet. Smart sweet and intelligent. I miss him to this day.

Great story Marilyn!

When I was very young, there was a family of raccoons that would visit our house regularly. They would knock on the door, then sit up and clap their hands for us to toss them food. We lived far away from other houses and we were fortunate to never have them cause us any trouble. They can be big "T" troublemakers when they wish it!

It has always been my intention to return the raccoon to the wild.....which is just outside my door, since I live on a bayou in the woods......however.....the raccoon isn't "my" raccoon....having been raised by my dog. I cannot pick it up....although it will climb on my lap and let me scratch her ears. She still lives with us. In fact, she has taken over my closet...and I moved my stuff down the hall and she sleeps on the top shelf in there. I thought she would want to go on her own, but so far she shows no interest. It is like people who have a grown "kid" that won't go out on their own and live in their basement and plays video games all day. She doesn't play video games, but she sleeps all day. She gets up about 4 a.m. and wrestles with the dog and then goes back to sleep around daylight. The last raccoon I raised started going out when he was 5 mo. old, and within a couple of months he was fully on his own. Another couple that I raised, went on their own and although they are now very elderly....at 15 years old....they still live here, but not in the house.....they come up every night. So I have kept waiting for this one to show an interest in leaving....but she hasn't. I am thinking about getting her in a crate and taking her outside. I think once she is out, she will like it. Either that or she will want to come back inside. Since she hasn't been spayed, there is no reason for her to not want to be with other raccoons. I didn't even name this raccoon.....I call her "coon"....and I did name the others and they knew their names. I haven't forced her out because I know they live with their families the first year....but it is going on 18 mo. She is very good about using a litter box and she doesn't eat very much....but she is very big and fat. Every day my dogs get a wienie as a treat. She expects one too....gets half a wienie handed up to her on her shelf. I am sure you realize by now that I am not like a "normal" person and having the raccoon live with me hasn't been something I wanted, but I am not troubled by it like a regular person probably would be.

I hope that didn't sound like all she gets to eat is half a wienie....because I said she doesn't eat much....she also eats dry cat food, and, not surprising....her favorite food is chicken. ;)

You're hilarious Marilyn!!! I love, love your attitude!

"... her favorite food is chicken." ROFL!

but I am not troubled by it like a regular person probably would be.

That's like yesterday when my neighbour was over. She knows that I do worm composting, and she wanted to see them. They were loving the cantaloupe rinds, and when I showed her, she squealed and ran from the room. She didn't think there would be so many. LOL.

That video is adorable and hilarious. I love how she just laughs about the window being scratched up. Meanwhile, Rocksy is thinking "Will you put down the darn phone already and get some kibble out here?"

marilyn_c, how cool that you are a raccoon's grandmother (because you are the dog's mom, right?).