Victim of a Home Invasion
About 9 pm Wednesday a masked thief entered our kitchen by breaking through the back screen door. I was in a room adjacent to the kitchen, but the door was closed. Just hours before, June had returned home from a hospital stay following an operation.
I came into the kitchen and saw the culprit cowering under a step in the corner. I spotted it just before it beat a retreat behind the fridge.
Our kitchen has seven egresses, all but two have doors. I made sure the five doors were closed, especially the one to June’s recovery room. Having a raccoon in there running wildly across the bed of a recovering invalid gives rise to a scenario too chaotic to contemplate.
My next tactic was to block off the two doorless entries….one to the living room the other to the hall leading to the front door and worse…. upstairs.
From the garage, I secured two three feet by three feet wooden panels to block the potential escapes for the raccoon, leaving the back door the only escape.
Then I went to inform the young Nigerian tenant, in a second floor room, of the situation. He immediately realized his help was needed. When we had to move some heavy logs he showed up to the scene in his flip flops. But for this occasion, not knowing the challenge, he came ‘armed with’ his work boots, his leather work gloves and a coat. This must have seemed a more daunting task than log moving or at least one he couldn’t imagine what his role would be.
I had secured a long handled spade from outside, but I thought it a bit heavy, not so dextrous and maybe “overkill”.
Now the job was to route it from behind the fridge and adjacent stove.
Instead, I got two canes hanging on a coat rack in the hall and gave him one of the ‘weapons’ and a large flashlight. His role was to take up a position with the flashlight to try to see the quarry behind the fridge and let me know what was going on back there.. The task I assumed was to put the cane between the stove and fridge to spook him out.
Despite all the drama of the situation, the racoon took the hint and bolted out the side of the fridge we were allowing and scooted out the back door.
The raccoon lives in the attic of the attached garage. When you live in an “urban forest” you have to expect wildlife.
The was not the first contact with a raccoon or even the first time one has been in the kitchen. I occasionally leave the back door open and once I caught a mother raccoon inside enjoying the cat’s kibble. She ambled out, but not with the urgency of this one.
As it happened, I shortly after that went for a bike ride. I came into the garage and up the short flight of stairs to this same back door. I noticed right behind me were three baby raccoons urged on from the back by this same mother, only hours before I had evicted. Obviously she had communicated to the young’uns that there was delightful kibble inside.
With these, having no inhibitions, I had to block the entrance with my foot and squeeze in the door as though I was keeping pets out.
A few years ago we “rescued” a baby raccoon stuck in a compost bin, nursed it for an afternoon until it left. I can imagine it might have been this one, residing in the garage. For further details on that event click on “We saved a baby”
We “saved a baby”
Here is a response I received the story at the top. It is a bit macabre, but funny.
a story to match but not for the light of heart.
a friend had a raccoon pestering his garbage bin. not a light plastic container with lid but a heavy wooden “box “with a catch on it. he is a jack of all trades so this box was well made and sturdy.
after several weeks of cleaning up after the nightly raids , my neighbour, who we shall call Bob, decided to lay in wait for the critter and dispatch it forthwith. his weapon of choice was a shovel. now you must understand Bob is in his 80’s, fit in spite of several body part replacements. and a long time hunter. ( usually with bow and arrow) he pursued the critter off the porch and over a fence into his neighbour’s backyard. They were not at home which Bob thought fortunate. he cornered the critter and dispatched a few goodwhacks . however this fella was strong and had a strong will to survive. bob had to chase him around the yard, whacking away until the final blow did the job. not one to leave evidence of the killing around he quickly removed the body and went home.
now that might be the end of the story except a few days later the neighbours returned. bob heard a knock and went to the door to find the husband shaking his head and obviously in need of a talk. it would seem these neighbours had a camera recording anything in the back yard for when they were away. the wife, an animal lover turned on the camera to review the
what at been filmed. needless to say she was horrified to see her crazed neighbour leaping a fence , shovel in hand and whacking a poor defenceless creature to death.
we all waited for a fb posting “ neighborhood killer on the lose”. but it did not happen.
