What happens if I shoot a rabid raccoon that is attacking my dog

[The5thDentist]

Get one of these : http://www.crosman.com/airguns/rifles/pcp/BPE3571

Quiet and powerful enough to dispatch small animals easily.

Cool rifle, but I can only imagine the police response if you were seen walking around Arlington with that. Probably have every on-duty cop within a ten mile radius swooping down on your ass. I like the ideas above. Carry a .22 with subsonic rounds, or a Governor with birdshot. And don't freakin' worry about it. Just shoot the damn animal.

 

[Chevy 2 65]

Urinate and vomit on the dog, then blow a dog (high pitch) rape whistle.

DAMN beat me to it

 

[Reptile]

The coon was attacking your dog.

Then the coon attacked you.

You were forced to service the target.

 

[rawlus]

Pepper spray will have absolutely no effect on a rabid raccoon.
Back in the 90's there was a statewide breakout if rabies in the wild rodents.. It started as a several citizen reports of acting strange raccoons, foxes and possums... Police were dispatched and the animals were shot, bagged and sent to the state for testing... Over the course of the summer the incidents increased to several per day, all cruisers carried bags and noose sticks... The state didn't want the remains anymore, their freezers were full. The town dump dug a big pit, with a plywood cover and cruisers would drop off their bounties and the end of the shift 3x a day... Most all of those animal types if they were seen it was assumed they were rabid or soon would be and they were getting dispatched regularly throughout the summer until the whole zombie epidemic just stopped. The massive culling likely had a old to do with controlling the spread.

The pit at the dump filled up and was pretty gross. Highway dept eventually plowed it over after the epidemic died down.

During the time the state was asking "no head shots" it was exceptionally difficult to stop a rabid raccoon in its tracks with body shots of defense ammo, 5-7 shots was not unheard of to stop the animal from advancing. For a time shotgun was recommended.

It's about time that cycle came around again... It seems there's been a rise in reports these last few weeks that seems beyond the norm. I wonder if this will be the year of the zombie rodents again.

That was the 90s and people were a bit more understanding then, parents wanted the danger gone and cops didn't hassle homeowners who were doing the exact same thing they were doing almost hourly at times as long as they were doing it safely.

I can't imagine this sort of behavior ever being acceptable in Newton, Arlington, Brookline, Cambridge, etc. city folks don't understand. In the burbs, in a small town, with a chief and law enforcement that get it, that understand and are not all loopy crazy because joe citizen has a gun, it seems reasonable.

I wonder how much times have changed.

There is nothing more humane or appropriate than destroying a rabid animal for its own good and for the protection of the public. I'd challenge any citizen who felt otherwise and invite them to go ahead and pet the mangy coon, take it home and introduce it to their children.

 

[Tundra02]

So if I was hiking somewhere with my dog this would not be an issue, but I live in little Cambridge (Arlington) and A Raccoon attack just happened yesterday.

So in my mind my dog is one of my children. There is not much I would not do to keep him safe (Even though he is more than capable of taking care of himself) So what if??? What if he is being attacked and I dispatch the Rabid animal with my firearm? I know other factors come into play like am I putting other people in harms way by firing and such. I am talking about a clean one or two shot kill of a Rabid Raccoon in my back yard that was attacking my dog. Am I going to jail for discharging a firearm? Am I going to loose my license?

In my mind this does not apply to my children. If they are being attacked There is nothing that would stop me from doing whatever was needed to help them and TBH the same goes for the dog. I would act first and worry about the consequences later. Thats why we have these forums right? So we can talk about this stuff before it happens?

These are all things that are running through my head while reading the article.

Call the fish & wildlife in Westboro and ask them . Seems to me the game warden's would have jurisdiction of wildlife .

 

[mustagt02]

It will die