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According to Vancouver resident Carol Alexander, it was her dog’s barking that triggered the attack.
She and her daughter were walking her chihuahua Mo near East 47th and Fraser streets on Saturday evening, when they spotted a couple of raccoons walking along a fence towards them. Alexander’s pooch — on-leash — started barking, and one of the critters “just jumped down off the fence, tried to attack him.”
“I picked him up, held him up in the air and then it just started biting my legs, crawling up me,” Alexander told Global News. “Then (Mo) wiggled away. He didn’t know to stay and he got down, and then it jumped on his back and was biting his back.”
Alexander said she started “kicking it and screaming for help” as she struck the raccoon with her dog’s leash. She was certain the critter would kill Mo, who weighs about 15 pounds.
“It just mauled my legs. The dog got away at that point, but it still kept attacking me,” she recalled. “I turn around and it was chasing me and like, biting the backs of my legs.”
Her daughter had run away, crying, she added. Soon, a neighbour came out with a stick.
“I was bleeding quite a lot and ended up on somebody’s porch,” Alexander said. “It’s one way to meet your neighbours, I guess. They were very kind.”
Her daughter drove her to Vancouver General Hospital, where she spent five hours. She received antibiotics for her wounds, but was reportedly told she wouldn’t need a rabies shot because raccoons aren’t known to transmit rabies in B.C.
Her dog, however, received a rabies booster from the veterinarian after the attack.
“We’re terrified to go for a walk now because it wasn’t even in my yard or in front of my house, it was like a block away,” Alexander said. “It could be anywhere, right? It could jump out right now for all I know.”
Alexander said she has called the City of Vancouver over the weekend and was advised to write to her city council representative or pay for an exterminator.
It’s not the first violent raccoon attack recorded in the past few months — in August, three people and three dogs were attacked by raccoons in the Kitsilano area, requiring a mix of stitches, vaccinations and surgery.
In an emailed statement, the municipality said raccoons fall outside of its regulations as they’re protected under the Provincial Wildlife Act. The city’s animal control officers, however, can enforce the Wildlife Feeding Bylaw, which prohibits feeding wild animals anywhere in Vancouver.
The city repeated the advice that concerned citizens should contact an accredited pest company.
Elizabeth Grant, a wildlife rescuer with 25 years of experience, said if people encounter wildlife anywhere in the province, they should keep their distance and ensure they’re not making the animal feel cornered.
“In particular, if it’s a mother with young or babies with her, then she needs to be given a wide berth so that she feels safe and does not feel that her babies are threatened,” Grant explained.
“For people in general, you need to always have your dog on a leash. It’s also helpful to supervise your cats or other pets if you’re letting them be outdoors.”
Grant repeated what Alexander was told at the hospital — bats are the only known source of rabies in B.C.
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