Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: Notesfiles $Revision: 1.6.2.17 $; site trsvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!trsvax!kal From: kal@trsvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.pets Subject: Re: re coons as pets Message-ID: <58100006@trsvax.UUCP> Date: Fri, 18-Jan-85 11:27:00 EST Article-I.D.: trsvax.58100006 Posted: Fri Jan 18 11:27:00 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 22-Jan-85 05:40:40 EST References: <839@hound.UUCP> Lines: 26 Nf-ID: #R:hound:-83900:trsvax:58100006:000:1667 Nf-From: trsvax!kal Jan 18 10:27:00 1985 Raccoons do not necessarily get wild when they grow up. My father was a raccoon hunter when I was younger. He had several hunting dogs specifically for that purpose. After the raccoon coat craze of the 20's (30's?) he was hired by the state of Illinois to take surveys of Northern Illinois. We had a pet raccoon named Fuzzy. Excellent pet! He was better than a cat or dog. The main thing to remember is that they are a wild animal. They require alot of attention to keep them tame. You can't just put them in a cage and admire them. You need to play with them. That's probably why you think they get wild when they get older. As a baby everyone wants to play with them. But as they get older, people are less interested in them and often just leave them in the cage with little or no attention. There were 10 of us kids, so Fuzzy never starved for attention. It is a big decision to keep a wild animal as a pet and it requires alot of forethought. When you get bored with the adult, you can't just turn them loose because they no longer know how to take of themselves (getting food). Another thing to consider is whether it is legal in your state to keep a wild animal as a pet. Many states have outlawed it. If it is legal, you need to find a vet that will give the animal the necessary shots to make it safe. In general, raccoons are mischevious and can be destructive. They are clean animals and they love to tease. Fuzzy loved to drive the coon dogs crazy. He would drive them up a wall by walking near them, just out of their reach. Unfortunately, one day he wasn't quite out of their reach and that was the demise of Fuzzy.