Survival Skills
See other Survival Skills Articles
Title: This Story About A Vegetarian Woman's Death Match With A Rabid Raccoon Is Everything
Source:
DailyWire
URL Source: http://www.dailywire.com/news/17565 ... eath-match-rabid-james-barrett
Published: Jun 15, 2017
Author: James Barrett
Post Date: 2017-06-15 14:54:21 by Tooconservative
Keywords: None
Views: 7757
Comments: 29
Maine's Bangor Daily News has graciously provided us all with what could prove to officially be the story of the week/month/year/infinity: the harrowing tale of a vegetarian Maine jogger's run-in with a rabid raccoon that started with a pleasant jaunt through the woods on a "beautiful day" and ended with a raccoon belly up in a puddle and a vegetarian haunted by the vision of what she once considered a "cute, cuddly forest animal" but now brings to mind something out of "Pet Sematary." The story begins with 21-year-old jogger and non-eater of meat Rachel Borch hitting the trail for a jog on a warm afternoon, thinking to herself, "What a beautiful day." That beautiful day would quickly turn bloody (not really that bloody, but there was blood). Here's how BDN's Alex Aquisto describes the beginning of the insane encounter: Suddenly, it began “bounding” toward her, Borch recalled Wednesday afternoon during an interview at her home on Hatchet Mountain Road in Hope. “I knew instantly it had to be rabid,” said Borch, who remembers ripping out her headphones and dropping her phone on the ground. What felt like a split second later, the furry animal was at her feet. Borch said she was “dancing around it,” trying to figure out what to do. Borch tried to describe what that little freaky creature most resembled: "Imagine the Tasmanian devil," she said. "It was terrifying." The crazed raccoon began "lunging" at her, the narrow path not allowing Borch the room to run past the little "devil." At this point, Borch resigned herself to getting bitten, so she took the fight to the woodland creature: The raccoon sank its teeth into Borch’s thumb and “wouldn’t let go.” Its paws were scratching her arms and legs wildly as Borch screamed and cried. Unable to pry the raccoon's jaws off her thumb, Borch noticed that her dropped cell phone had landed in a puddle of water and had an idea: drown the hateful thing. "I didn't think I could strangle [the raccoon] with my bare hands," explained Borch. "With my thumb in its mouth, I just pushed its head down into the muck." She then held the raccoon, belly up, under the water for what felt like forever. "It was still struggling and clawing at my arms. It wouldn’t let go of my thumb," she said. But finally, "its arms sort of of fell to the side, its chest still heaving really slowly." "If there hadn’t been water on the ground, I don’t know what I would have done," she said later. "It really was just dumb luck. I’ve never killed an animal with my bare hands. I’m a vegetarian. It was self-defense." Convinced that the raccoon was no longer a threat, she extricated her thumb from its jaws and "bolted as fast": Borch remembers looking back once to see if the raccoon had started chasing her again. “It felt like [Stephen King’s] ‘Pet Sematary,’” she said. Borch ran three-quarters of a mile — bare-footed because her shoes were soaked — and screaming the whole way, thinking, "Oh, God, what if I just start foaming at the mouth and can’t find my way back?" Her mom took her to the nearby medical center for treatment, while her father went to get the corpse, which he stuffed into a perfectly named "Taste of the Wild" dog food bag. (I'm beginning to worry this is a hoax.) The Maine Center for Disease Control confirmed on Wednesday that the raccoon indeed had rabies, so naturally Animal Control issued a statement freaking everyone out about the likelihood of more rabid raccoons out there haunting the trails. "Not to scare people," Hope Animal Control Officer Heidi Blood said, but "when there’s one [infected], there’s typically another." If left untreated, she pointed out, rabies infections are "100 percent fatal." Yikes. Aquisto ends her delightful story by noting that Borch has absolutely zero advice for anyone who stumbles into a rabid animal like she did. "I always thought of raccoons as this cute, cuddly forest animal," she said. "I just will never look at them the same way."
(1 image) 
In the midst of appreciating the weather and scenery, she looked ahead and noticed a raccoon obstructing the narrow foot path, baring its tiny teeth. Figuring she would have the greatest ability to defend herself if she used her hands to hold it down, she decided that probably would be the best place for the aggressive animal to latch on. Hyperventilating and in hysterics, she pulled her thumb out of the raccoon’s mouth, “and then I just bolted as fast as I could through the underbrush,” she said.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 25.
#3. To: Tooconservative (#0)
I'd say she has made the grade for official title of "Warrioress".
I was struck by this: Is there an app for coon-strangling or drowning? Apparently, the coon would have killed her if she hadn't had the smartphone to inspire her to drown it, just as dropping her phone in the muck "drowned" it. It is, of course, a little too easy to make fun of someone else having an unexpected traumatic encounter with one of Nature's cute furry critters. You have to wonder if she would have realized she didn't need the water/muck if she just jammed her thumb right down the coon's throat and suffocated it that way. The coon had already bit her so it wasn't a matter of avoiding a bite at that point.
The fact that the phone dropping in the water gave her the idea doesn't diminish her performance. Rather, to me it demonstrates that even in the stress of unexpectedly dealing with an attacking, rabid animal, she maintained her ability to think and come up with a solution to end the assault. She did not panic as many do, especially women, in such situations. Panicing, of course, generally means responding without thinking at all. So she did great. If the phone hadn't dropped in the water, I suspect she would have either come up with the same idea on her own or another idea. One way rabbits are killed is to simply grab them by the head and whip their body in a loop, which breaks the neck. Maybe that would work with coons too. I don't think I would have tried to choke it, if it were me. How do you know that you have inserted your thumb far enough down it's throat? It's not like you've ever had training in how to choke a raccoon. But I have heard for grizzly bears, sticking your arm down it's throat is a good defense measure as it will force the bear into nausea spasms. Maybe someone will try that sometime and get back to me.
"Daisy, stop it!" LOL Daisy got game. She has what it takes but she has a pussy for an owner.
Looks like Daisy had a good a day. :) Looks like my Yellow Girl Sandy (Lab). Labs will surprise you with their tenacity when something or someone comes on their turf. I remember Chuck Wagon telling us stories of his Lab named Daisy getting into all sorts of trouble with bees. :) You still around CW?
I'm not sure why but my blood pressure goes up just thinking about coons and other varmints. It sounds like White suffers from the same disease.
Gary's housing community had some serious issues with raccoons a few years back due to construction. They were tearing up homes.
One of my mom's retired cousins is from Iowa but is a Texas snowbird. He had some coons tear through his roof and had a whole pack of them living there when he got home from Texas one spring. He repaired the roof by re-roofing that entire section. They tore through it again with ease because they liked living in his attic. He tore off the roof and put razorwire down beneath the shingles. They tried to get in again but the razorwire was too much for them. : ) Most people don't realize just how destructive and capable coons can really be.
Where I live in Texas we had some issues back in 2010 and 2011 when we had a really bad drought. The raccoons who normally terrorized the rich folk along the lakes decided they could get a water source from bird baths, pools, and pet water bowls in backyards where I lived. Saw one in my backyard one early morning and good ol' Sandy girl gave chase and the coon hopped the fence never to be seen again. They terrorized the garbage cans mostly and I think they holed up in a few neighborhood sheds and up at the tennis club. Had no reports of homes being torn up. Although that timeframe the housing market here was awful for a military town and a lot of homes which were rentals were vacant and provided unkempt backyards for them to hole up in. But once the rain came a pouring in 2012, they went back to the lakes and terrorizing the rich folk. :) It was in that same drought timeframe my outdoor cat Mr. Spunky was torn to shreds 4 times and made 4 miraculous recoveries. He may have had some part in keeping the coons at bay, and for that we rewarded him with indoor and outdoor privileges. :) He was code named "Lazarus" after his 4th recovery. The extent of his wounds were pretty bad, but wifey is a country gal and knew how to patch him up. And he is still with us.
Bernie bros would be so happy at this class warfare. Coons are known to target cats as you must know. They're notorious cat killers.
#26. To: Tooconservative (#25)
And humans with plastic brooms. In my world, he never would have made it out of that container alive.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestShe then held the raccoon, belly up, under the water for what felt like forever. "It was still struggling and clawing at my arms. It wouldn’t let go of my thumb," she said. But finally, "its arms sort of of fell to the side, its chest still heaving really slowly."
#6. To: Pinguinite (#3)
(Edited)
I'd say she has made the grade for official title of "Warrioress".
Unable to pry the raccoon's jaws off her thumb, Borch noticed that her dropped cell phone had landed in a puddle of water and had an idea: drown the hateful thing.
"I didn't think I could strangle [the raccoon] with my bare hands," explained Borch. "With my thumb in its mouth, I just pushed its head down into the muck."
#8. To: Tooconservative (#6)
It is, of course, a little too easy to make fun of someone else having an unexpected traumatic encounter with one of Nature's cute furry critters.
You have to wonder if she would have realized she didn't need the water/muck if she just jammed her thumb right down the coon's throat and suffocated it that way. The coon had already bit her so it wasn't a matter of avoiding a bite at that point.
#13. To: Pinguinite, redleghunter (#8)
#20. To: Tooconservative, Chuck_Wagon (#13)
#21. To: redleghunter, misterwhite (#20)
#22. To: Tooconservative, GarySpFc (#21)
I'm not sure why but my blood pressure goes up just thinking about coons and other varmints. It sounds like White suffers from the same disease.
#23. To: redleghunter (#22)
Gary's housing community had some serious issues with raccoons a few years back due to construction. They were tearing up homes.
#24. To: Tooconservative (#23)
Most people don't realize just how destructive and capable coons can really be.
#25. To: redleghunter (#24)
But once the rain came a pouring in 2012, they went back to the lakes and terrorizing the rich folk. :)
It was in that same drought timeframe my outdoor cat Mr. Spunky was torn to shreds 4 times and made 4 miraculous recoveries.
Replies to Comment # 25. "Coons are known to target cats as you must know."
End Trace Mode for Comment # 25.
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]