Raccoons carry diseases as do others. You do not want to be around them at all. And yes, they like to be near water. Just one site.


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Coonhound paralysis is something else.


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Our big German Shepherd (over 100 lbs.) was bitten by a buck coon that carried it. They are the ones who can carry it. The dog hadn't shown up for a couple of days. Finally, I was calling for him and heard a jingle in the corral. Low and behold there he was. We took him to the garage and did he ever drink water. He could not even lay upright. Off to the vet who didn't know what it was and thought he should be put down. But I got a second opinion at another vet who knew right now that it was coonhound paralysis. The dog had the bite marks on his nose and snout. So some good nutrition and kept him in the woodshed with screens on the door so no flies, etc. could get in. I had to turn him every four hours so that he wouldn't get pneumonia. The vet said that in about six weeks he would be up and normal.

Finally after a time he could lay upright and then he was able to sit up. And yes, around six weeks later he was walking and running like his old self. You would never have known. A good thing he was able to get to the corral from the slough. A smaller dog would have died right then.

So that's how that went and he went on to live a full life for a big dog.

Raccoons are nothing to fool with for any reason as other animals are not either. Never know what they may have.