Injured raccoon, animal control closed, cops won't help

[hoax]

ABC Humane Wildlife Rescue

Downers Grove, IL 60516
(630) 910-0200

Is this close to you?


I googled "Wildlife rescue woodridge, IL" and got 10 more rescues

Mike

[wolfy-hound]

I hope something worked out.

I would never try to touch a injured raccoon.. I wouldn't try to touch ANY wild raccoon. You're right, it's injured and possibly rabid. Healthy raccoons don't behave that way.

Hopefully someone came out and dispatched the poor thing.

[PythonWallace]

The police wouldn't do anything, they asid to just avoid the area and wait it out, and the condo president was giving me crap for feeding it, and also wanted my angry neighbor and I to just leave it. The police said that we couldn't attempt to euthanize it, either. 30 hours later, at about 2:00 in the morning (last night) it came back and fell into my neighbor's underground patio. We decided that we would wait until morning, then call the local animal and wild life rescue to come get it, so I used a 4 foot piece of PVC to rub the gash on it's head with Chlorihexadine solution, and we gave it a bowl of water and a plate of fruit, vegetables, wheat bread, cheese and oat meal.

This morning, the food was gone, but it had appearantly spent most of the night walking in circles around the patio, rubbing it's head against the walls. There was blood trails along all four sides of the patio, and it was wobbling and collapsing on it's own. The wild life rescue said that they wouldn't send anyone out, and that we would have to bring it in. We weren't about to touch it, or get close enough to give it a chance to scratch or bite us, plus it was now very obvious that it was in extremely bad shape, and had zero chance of living through another nigh, much less be rehabilitated had me managed to find a safe way to drive it to the rescue, so we contemplated either giving i a blow to the top of the head or neck with the narrow end of a cricket bat, or trying to lure it into a large Rubbermaid tub, then using the tub to euthanize it with CO2. The old crab ass lady/president of the condo came down and saw what was going on, and called the police. They told us that we couldn't use a CO2 chamber, because it was inhumane. He really wanted to shoot it, so he called backup, because there needs to be two officers present to discharge their weapons. My neighbor reminded him that the fr wall of the patio was a sliding, solid glass door, and that the ricochet would surely break the glass and go into his condo, where his elderly parents were sitting. The second cop brought our a small dog crate and a wire noose on a pole, so they could rope it and put it in the cage. The whole time he had his gun drawn and had everyone back away, and his parents go in the other room, "In case the raccoon jumped at him". They finally got it out, and into the cage, but then they ended up walking it off to the side and shooting it in the head. I'm sure it had to be put down, no matter what, but I didn't understand their issues with us doing it, and them shooting it, after they had it in a cage.

[catawhat75]

Poor critter. If anything happens like this again and no wildlife rehab/rescue place will do anything, call a pest control company. They are (or should be) used to dealing with injured/ill animals and will have the ability to humanely put it to sleep.

[DM1975]

Man, sometimes people are just stupid. I used to be a police officer myself, but that is just nuts. I would have told you to go for it. Inhumane? A bullet to the head might be humane to a degree, but not as humane as a CO2 chamber, not to mention that any time you fire your weapon their is a possibility of liable should anything go wrong.

Granted I had to put down several animals while I was a police officer, it was not something I enjoyed much, but things like that have to be done sometimes.

[PythonWallace]

Man, sometimes people are just stupid. I used to be a police officer myself, but that is just nuts. I would have told you to go for it. Inhumane? A bullet to the head might be humane to a degree, but not as humane as a CO2 chamber, not to mention that any time you fire your weapon their is a possibility of liable should anything go wrong.

Granted I had to put down several animals while I was a police officer, it was not something I enjoyed much, but things like that have to be done sometimes.

Exactly. I can't think of anything more humane, other than maybe nitrous oxide or nitrogen, than slowly pumping in CO2 while it's feasting on some delicious strawberries and mango slices. Once it was knocked out I would slowly increase the gas until I was 100% that the job was done. Doesn't the Humane Society say that that is the only humane way to euthanize rodents? I know that raccoons are not rodents, and being larger it would take longer, but I would think that taking my time and slowly gassing it would be about as humane as possible in that situation. I don't really have a problem with a bullet to the head, but he just seemed awfully eager to pop a cap in that 'coon. It was kind of scary thinking that a lot more cops could be just as trigger happy while they're out there every day.

[wolfy-hound]

I believe all the items I read about seting up CO2 chambers HAVE said not to use it for anything larger than a rat. I'm not sure why, but I do remember reading that.

I understand them getting it to the side before shooting it. Besides, this way they took care of it, you didn't get into any trouble over it, and the raccoon is finally dead and out of pain.

Animal Control should be jumped on for letting i stay there, when it was obvious the animal was in pain and damaged.

[hoax]

Like wolfy said, I don't think the actions of the police officers should really be criticized as much as the actions of the animal control officers.

Mike

[dsirkle]

With Illinois not being a State that recognizes the 2nd amendment the citizens can't deal with it, and the Police I'm sure won't deal with it because discharging a weapon would call for a lengthy report. You shouldn't risk touching it. If it is not dead by morning call animal control.OOps! I missed the post telling about the resolution. The cops aren't trained to handle a situation like that aside from shooting it. They did deal with it to the best of their ability. It's not pleasant to watch an animal suffer, sometimes to put it out of it's misery is all that can be done.