“The officers quickly established a positive relationship with him.”
Earlier this week, officers from Minnesota’s Lakeville Police Department responded to a call about a rabid raccoon on the loose around town. However, the situation wasn’t quite as threatening as the caller had reported.
In fact, it was quite the opposite.
“Officers arrived and quickly realized [the raccoon] was super friendly and dog-like,” a spokesperson for the police department told The Dodo. “He wanted to be around people.”
The young raccoon was eager to interact with the officers in a playful way.
“He was much more friendly than what they were expecting!” the spokesperson added. “The officers quickly established a positive relationship with him.”
Determining that the raccoon didn’t actually have rabies, the officers initially planned to relocate him to a local park. But that soon proved difficult.
“He followed them around and wanted to go back to the squad car, so they figured he was domesticated,” the police spokesperson said.
The raccoon made sure they couldn’t leave without him.
It’s unclear if the raccoon is indeed domesticated, but keeping raccoons as pets is generally prohibited in Minnesota. So, just in case, the officers took him to a rehabilitation clinic for continued observation and care.
With any luck, the young animal will learn to be a bit more wary of people, and have the skills required to survive being released back into the wild.
Still, the friendly raccoon — whom officers lovingly named Gerald — has left a lasting impression, the police spokesperson said:
“He is being talked about by everyone here at the office!”