On the Wild Side...Living with a Raccoon

We found the ad in the local paper for a 12-week old raccoon.  We went to see her.  She was sort of friendly and so cute.  I talked David into getting her.  Only later, I saw a 12-week old raccoon, and my pet had never looked that young --- live and learn…don’t believe everything people tell you, though I’m afraid I’m still a sucker sometimes.

We took Dizzy home – and I immediately changed her name.  She seemed to respond to her name, looking at me when I said it, so we pondered something similar and came up with Desi.  Not sure why we thought that was better, but we almost always rename our animals even today, even when they are adults when we get them.

Desi moved into our trailer house.  We really knew nothing about raccoons.  David was on his way out of town for the weekend…a trip to Lake Powell with his dad and brothers.  So I was home with a raccoon who climbed into our couch and wouldn’t come out.  Okay, so she wasn’t really friendly.  I spent the weekend enticing her with ‘junk’ food that might entice her to respond to me.  For three days that’s what I did.  I sat near the couch and gave her fruit or a cracker or a piece of cereal every time she would look out at me.  By the end of the weekend she was coming out to get treats. 

Desi on her couch
(I don't remember why the cushion was there).

 

We were told that she should get a mixture of dog and cat food.  She seemed to eat that okay, so that was what we fed her.  I found a book about having pet raccoons. It confirmed the cat food/dog food idea but other things it said bothered me, like that we should never punish her, that she would not understand…

David was happy with the progress when he came home. I could put a leash on Desi and walk her around the trailer house.  She had decided that the couch was a good place to sleep.  She was very good about using a litter box.  She liked to play in the bathtub.  I thought she was awesome.

My family was having a group campout nearby.  I decided to take Desi.  Since I don’t like to camp, she would also give me a reason to come home at nights – perfect!!  So, I took a leash and a litter box for in the car.  Desi was an excellent traveler.  She hung out on the backseat unless she got bored, then she would climb up in front with us.  I was in love.

At Oak Creek with Desi.

 

Desi was interested in the ferrets and would try to get their food (it was cat food, since there was no such thing as ferret food at the time). 

David liked to wrestle with Desi, which I didn’t think was a good idea.  I didn’t do anything that would encourage any mouthing that might lead to biting.  Later, David was sorry that he didn’t listen.  Desi loved to rough house with David – but as she got older, the biting was fierce and painful.  Lesson…Don’t do things that won’t be cute when the animal is an adult.

A wiser David playing tug-of-war with Desi.

Life with Desi was a little like living in a Disney movie with a wild animal invading your household.  Really, David was a good sport.

 Once while we were out, Desi went into the bathroom to play, I guess.  While in there, the door was shut and she pulled out all of the drawers (remember this is in a trailer house).  The drawers being pulled out made it impossible to open the door.  Desi’s little paw, that looked remarkably like a hand, was reaching under the door and she made mewing sounds wanting us to rescue her.  Luckily, the hinges were on the hallway side and David ended up taking down the door to let her out (our hero!).

Another time, we had been out and when we arrived home it was to a bloated raccoon sitting in our pantry with everything that she hadn’t managed to eat dumped onto the floor.  David wired cabinets shut. I couldn’t open them, but Desi could.

The couch became less and less comfortable as Desi made herself at home. She removed and relocated stuffing.  Also, people would freak out as her little paw reached out from between cushions to feel around….but that was funny to us.

We learned that raccoons learn many skills from their moms.  Things like getting out of trees or climbing down didn’t seem to come naturally.  Desi was interested in fish and crayfish in the water, but had no idea that she could catch them, though she did eat them if David caught them.  She did love to play in the water and would chase after things, but she was never very successful at catching things…even things that she did like to eat.

David rescuing Desi when she was afraid to climb down.

 

When David got a job in Virginia, we were told by other people that having a raccoon as a pet was illegal in some states.  I contacted Virginia and learned that they didn’t care.  So, we made a road trip from Arizona to Virginia with Desi in the backseat of the car.  At night we had a cage that we put her into.  She drew attention at every stop as we got her out for a walk and potty break.  We also had a litter-box behind the seat that she used without fail.

Ready to go....

Desi in the backseat between the ferret cages.

Wanting attention during the long trip. 
Most of the time she was great with David,
but when she decided to 'play' it could get pretty painful
(he still has scars).

 

We got a Norwegian Elkhound puppy, Tewa, and Desi loved to play with her.

Desi with Tewa.

Desi in her pool with Tewa looking on...

 

Desi went with me to the local science center and we went to some schools to talk about raccoons and what they were like as pets. 

We learned that dog food and cat food don’t have the nutrients that a raccoon needs.  Raccoons need a lot more iron than is available in such foods.  Desi ended up with an iron deficiency twice.  The first time I caught that there was something wrong and got her to the veterinarian in time.  The second time David was taking care of her and he was a lot more leery of her since she thought that attacking him was a game (that he taught her when she was young), and he didn’t catch that she was ill.  To this day, I worry about leaving my animals with someone else because I have caught things that others have missed (even veterinarians) because I know them so well.

A couple of years ago, I saw a baby raccoon that had been hand-fed.  Soooo sweet!  However, David says, “No raccoon,” and he doesn’t say no very often, so we are still raccoonless.  Maybe some day….



 

Another Weird Pet (Back Then)

 While David and I were newly married, my best friend showed up with a weird critter.  It was a ferret. 

While ferrets are common in pet stores these days, back in the 1970s they were practically unheard of. I thought it was so cool that I found one (I think Robyn, my friend, actually found it).  We named her Meshach.  She was very clever and active and fun.  And a few months later she disappeared in Robyn’s trailer house.  We thought she went through a small hole in the bathroom.  David made small holes in the bottom of the trailer, trying to find her.  We never did.  I cried for days.  I often wonder what happened. (Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Rhoton for the holes we left in the trailer – they probably didn’t help the insulation).

A while later, we found another ferret for sale.  I was glad that Monamie was darker since Meshach had been white.  When we found Shawnicey, it didn't matter that he was white.  He was so playful!

      

Monamie

Shawnicey playing with my parents' puppy.

 

And then the Sheriff’s office was called because a woman woke up at a truckstop with a strange ‘rat-like’ animal sitting on her chest.  She was totally freaked!!  At the time, I was a dispatcher for the Department of Public Safety (Highway Patrol) and someone at the Sheriff’s office knew I had ferrets.  They called, after the one they had found was quarantined and no one claimed him, and asked if I wanted him.  Umm, of course I did.  At first, Shawnicey and Monte 'argued' a little and I figured it was just to establish pecking order, so we thought it would all work out.  Later, they were very aggressive with each other, so they couldn't be let out at the same time, and we had to have separate cages for them.

Monte (found at a truck stop) at the Sheriff's office in Williams.
We took Monamie and Shawnicey in to see if they would get along.

We thought three ferrets were enough (especially since the boys didn't get along), but then we met  a poor little ferret that I am sure had brain damage.  She was sweet, but seemed totally out of it a lot of the time.  All of the other ferrets accepted her, so she came to our house to live. 



Bandite, the weird little ferret.

We tried breeding them, and had one litter.  None of the babies survived, and we didn't want to go through that again, so we had them all neutered and descented – no, they weren’t sold that way back then -- which improved their smell considerably, though not completely.   Ferrets have a built in defense system similar to a skunk's. They have a very unpleasant odor when they become frightened, though not as strong as a skunk's and it dissipates a lot with soap and water.  Even descented, and in the best of circumstances, ferrets have a musky odor.  Sometimes, with some perfumes or colognes, I think of ferrets.

Shawnicey getting a 'bath.'

Our ferrets were smart.  They knew that they had to use the litter box before they could be out in the house.  They were pretty good about using it anyway, but it was a requirement before they could leave the cage.  They liked attention and they were fun to watch. Ferrets, handled a lot, are friendly and playful.  They are curious and like to investigate everything!

 

 

 

We had the ferrets long enough that our oldest son played with them.  While I've heard of ferrets hurting children, ours were friendly and liked attention.  We were always with our son when he handled the ferrets and it is very important to spend a lot of time with ferrets or any other exotic animal pet.

Picking the ferret up.

Carrying him around.

Putting him away (notice Monamie at his feet).

Something that was interesting to me was that, while I had never heard of ferrets before and a lot of people who saw us out walking our little business (group of ferrets), both of my grandfathers had had ferrets when they were younger.  My paternal grandfather had passed away, but my grandmother told how he had used ferrets for hunting rabbits.  He sent the ferret into the hole to chase the rabbit out.  He and other hunters would be at other rabbit holes and bag the rabbit as it came out.  Sometimes the ferret would catch a rabbit, eat it, and fall asleep in the hole.  Then my grandfather would go back later to get it when the ferret would make its way out. Who knew?!?  My maternal grandfather didn’t actually own the ferret, but he told how they used it in a factory where he worked to keep the vermin down.  My grandparents were not particularly impressed that we had them as pets.

We had them for about 8 years – They moved from Arizona to Virginia with us.  Three of them passed away (two were not babies when we got them – they were longer lived than the ones people get now). One of the ones who passed away had a tumor (I still have the x-ray somewhere), and I guess that is common even today. One we gave to my veterinarian’s kids when we were moving into an apartment in a different state (Missouri) and couldn’t take him.

I've been asked why we don't have them now.  I was glad that I had ferrets.  Because people started breeding them when they first became popular, ferrets now have many more health problems than they did at first - breeders don't always worry about inbreeding, breeding even if their animal has defects, etc. Also, my daughter had them for a while as a teen, and even with handling, they weren't as responsive as our first ones were.  I don't know if that is breeding, or because there are so many that they don't get attention when they are very young.  So, no ferrets for now.

I liked the uniqueness of the ferrets.  Each had its own personality, like all animals, and they were interesting.  I liked taking them for short walks (they kind of went their own way and I followed along so I guess they actually took ME for walks).  While we lived in Virginia, I took them to the Science Center and did presentations with them -- the pros and cons of having them.  Plus, I don’t know if I would have heard the stories about my grandfathers if I had not gotten them.  That might have made it worth it in any case!

 

A side note:  In the photo album where I found the pictures, I wrote, "We have talked about starting a small zoo with many unusual pets."  David won't confirm that he thought that, but it is there is writing!