Elderly woman, pet dog attacked by ‘big and very powerful’ raccoon: ‘Out of a horror movie’
A Florida senior wound up in the hospital overnight after being terrorized by a bulky and belligerent raccoon in a scene a neighbor described as something “out of a horror movie.”
The wild animal attack occurred in St. Augustine Monday night, when the 75-year-old woman and her pet pooch were chased into their own home and trapped inside for an hour-and-a-half by the rampaging masked bandit.
“He was big and very powerful, and it was definitely something that I’ve never seen before,” neighbor and friend John Ness, who helped fight off the raccoon, told News4JAX.
Ness said his pal spotted the raccoon around 8pm loitering on her porch, and before long the bushy-tailed trespasser made a beeline inside, where he proceeded to maul the homeowner and her pup.
Ness heard the woman’s screams and ran over to help, but the chubby intruder, tipping the scales at an estimated 30 lbs, was in no mood to leave.
“We couldn’t get him out and he was on top of me,” Ness recalled, adding that at one point during the struggle he was able to grab a butcher knife and repeatedly stab the raccoon with it.
“It’s something right out of a horror movie,” Ness said with a laugh. “I actually used the knife when he was on me to stab it continuously until he finally got off me.”
Even after being repeatedly knifed, the combative raccoon kept lunging at Ness, prompting him to stab him a couple more times.
Ness ultimately called 911, and Florida Fish and Wildlife officers who responded managed to carry off the crazed critter, which was then dispatched with a gunshot.
The homeowner was taken to the hospital to be treated for animal bites to her foot and screened for rabies. She has since been discharged.
Her dog had been vaccinated against rabies and did not require any medical attention.
