What began as a quiet second letting the canines out rapidly spiraled into chaos for one Somerville girl over the weekend.
Round 1 a.m. Saturday, Katharine VanBuskirk stepped into her yard together with her canines, Ruby and Blue—and ended up in a bodily struggle with a raccoon.
“This factor got here from over right here and attacked my face,” VanBuskirk mentioned, pointing to the spot the place the animal lunged. She had simply undergone shoulder surgical procedure 5 days earlier, however managed to struggle off the raccoon together with her one good arm.
“Each time it got here at me, I used my proper arm to hurl it away,” she mentioned. “And it got here again. And it got here again.”
The assault left her lined in scratches and chunk marks—from her cheek to her calf. Blood poured down her face as she screamed and ran again inside. Her canines have been unhurt, although Ruby was later discovered hiding behind a TV stand in the lounge.
Medical consultants handled VanBuskirk with systemic antibiotics as a result of sheer variety of chunk wounds. She is now present process a sequence of rabies photographs. Massachusetts Wildlife Biologist Dave Wattles instructed NBC10 Boston the incident was extremely uncommon.
“An assault by a raccoon is definitely a comparatively uncommon prevalence,” he mentioned.
Rabies could have been an element, however VanBuskirk additionally suspects her compost bin could have lured the animal in.
“The compost bin was proper right here,” she mentioned, gesturing towards a cleared spot in her yard. The place is the compost bin now? “Exterior the gates far-off,” she mentioned.
Regardless of the traumatic occasion, VanBuskirk stays calm, compassionate and a giant fan of nature.
“I simply need different individuals to watch out,” she mentioned. “And you realize, I’m gonna by no means blame the raccoon.”
Consultants say raccoons could be unpredictable and harmful when provoked or looking for meals. To remain protected, residents are urged to:
- Safe rubbish bins
- Preserve pet meals indoors
- Keep away from feeding or approaching wildlife
- Remove doable denning areas
- Shield livestock
