ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A St. Augustine woman was hospitalized overnight after a 30-pound raccoon chased her and her pet dog into her house, the woman’s neighbor told News 6 partner WJXT-TV.
The 75-year-old woman and the dog were trapped for an hour and a half and were bitten several times, according to the woman’s friend, who told WJXT he helped fight off the raccoon.
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“He was big and very powerful, and it was definitely something that I’ve never seen before,” neighbor John Ness said.
Ness said he is OK but a little shaken up. Tuesday is actually his birthday, and he spent the entire early morning at the hospital checking on his friend.
Ness said the whole thing started around 8 p.m. Monday.
Ness said his neighbor spotted the raccoon on her porch, and then it got inside and went after her and her dog. He heard screams from inside the woman’s home and came to help.
Ness said he was in the kitchen and tried to fight off the raccoon. He managed to snap a photo of the animal in the house.
“Once he was inside the house, that’s when all the real problems started because we couldn’t get him out and he was on top of me,” Ness said. “I actually had a butcher knife that was this big, and I used it. It’s something right out of a horror movie. I actually used the knife when he was on me to stab it continuously until he finally got off me.”
Ness eventually called 911 for help and Florida Fish and Wildlife officers were able to evict the raccoon by looping it on a long pole to keep its teeth a safe distance away.
The wildlife officers shot the raccoon once they got it outside.
The woman, who was bitten on the foot, was being screened for rabies at the hospital.
The dog has its rabies vaccine and didn’t need medical attention, despite also being bitten. Ness said he’ll be taking the dog to the vet, just in case.
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