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Queen Anne dog recovering from raccoon attack

August 7th, 2009 · 29 Comments

After being viciously attacked by a raccoon in the backyard of their Queen Anne home a week and a half ago, the Metzner family say Rosie, a 4-year-old Maltese, is doing much better.

Early in the morning on July 27, the Metzners, who live on the 2100 block of 10th Avenue West, were startled to hear their dog yelping outside. A large raccoon was attempting to pull the 5 pound dog through a small space between the side fence and deck, when Sue, Rosie’s owner, found them. Sue writes,

The attack happened at about 5 a.m. when I get up to get ready for work. She ran to the back corner of our fenced in yard and suddenly started yelping.  When I went to help her, I could see that her foot was stuck under the fence and when I tried to free her, I could feel and hear the raccoon on the other end. It was awful.

I freaked out and started yelling at the top of my lungs for some help. My husband came and ran outside the fence and literally grabbed the raccoon off of her and started yelling that we needed a tourniquet and had to get her to the emergency clinic “now”.

Rosie, the 4-year-old Maltese, before the raccoon attack that left her without a limb
Rosie, pictured above before the attack, was severely injured, especially in her right hind leg and tail, which were gnawed by the raccoon. After fighting off the animal, the family rushed Rosie to the Elliott Bay Animal Hospital, and later to the Emerald City Emergency Clinic in Wallingford, where veterinarians amputated her right leg and part of her tail, which the raccoon had chewed beyond salvage.

As of Wednesday, Rosie has undergone another successful surgery, removing more of the infected area around her leg and tail. According to her family, she is doing well and “appears to be a lot less uncomfortable.”

Sue writes,

I am sickened by what happened and feel that people should know the dangers that exist regarding these animals that Disney thinks are so cute.

The family believes the raccoon had been living under their porch with three others (one close in size to the attacker, and two smaller), and have since sealed off the space. As most Queen Anne residents know, raccoon sightings are not uncommon. Though the Metzners have not seen the four raccoons since, they wanted to warn the community, especially those with small pets. They have three other Maltese dogs themselves. Sue adds,

The vets said that they have seen a lot of raccoon attacks this summer and she did better than many.



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