I found this hilarious, but........

[gini]

my friend didn't think so.

I have friends who just spent a small fortune having their back yard landscaped. It is just beautiful with many types of plants and flowers and a fountain. She also had sod installed for the grassy areas.

Every morning after the sod was installed she would find it "rolled up"..........
she couldn't believe it - it was simply rolled back up very neatly. This went on for quite a few days until they decided to just scout out the backyard late at night and watch what was going on.

A little raccoon would saunter in the yard - roll up the sod and then feast on the grubs under the sod.

They have found a product that has coyote urine in it - and it took quite a few applications - but the rolling has stopped.

[dukedogsmom]

I think it's cute, too. How nice of that raccoon to neatly roll up the sod.

[Freedom]

I think that raccoon deserves a prize! Being SO courteous of the new sod. Could have just burrowed through it!

Hey wait a minute! If they really spent "a small fortune," then they better complain or get a refund. Degrubbing should have been done long before the new sod was unrolled -- for the FIRST time! :D

[Pam]

It sounds to me like the little raccoon was doing them a favor. They sure don't want grubs getting into their sod - we have had them and had to use lawn chemicals to get rid of them. At least the little raccoon was friendly to the environment. :p

[critter crazy]

I think it's cute, too. How nice of that raccoon to neatly roll up the sod.

I agree!!! ROFLMAO!!!! Priceless!!! She should have gotten pics!!! LOL!!:D

[Felicia's Mom]

That was very funny!:D

[Edwina's Secretary]

Raccoons are very polite in my experience. We had a raccoon in Chicago. The raccoon would get in the garbage cans (the huge plastic ones with hinged tops) as evidenced by the chicken bones scattered all around. But NEVER once did the raccoon leave the lid on the garbage can up!

How many men can say that?????

(One morning my husband went out to get the newspaper...there was momma raccoon looking so proud....as her babies foraged in the garbage can....)

[Twisterdog]

Smart little critters, aren't they?

My niece used to keep her cat food on the porch, and the racoons would come up and (neatly) eat it. So, she started putting it in her shed. They opened the door, and (neatly) ate it. Well, she decided to get serious, so she put a padlock on the door, slipped through the latch but not locked. She was sure that was the end of the problem. Put, next morning, pounds of cat food are gone again.

Puzzled, she decided to wait up and watch. About midnight, here come a family of racoons. One stands up against the door of the shed, while another climbs up onto his shoulders and takes off the padlock! :eek:

After that, she just gave up and let them have it.

[Killearn Kitties]

I am amazed! I have no experience of racoons and am just stunned by these stories. :D

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Ha ha - that is brilliant!

[Randi]

I'm amazed to read these stories too. I don't think I've ever seen a raccon, but what smart critters they are!

[smokey the elder]

Smart little buggers, aren't they?

[Ginger's Mom]

:D What a smart little guy. Now, if he had only rolled the sod back into place he could have had his own personal food patch for months. ;)

[4 Dog Mother]

That is too funny. Instead of getting mad, she should have gotten a video of it and sent it into Funniest Home Videos - she might have gotten $10,000 out of it!

[cassiesmom]

I wonder which is harder on new sod, a hungry raccoon or grubs?

[AdoreMyDogs]

Oh that is the cutest thing! I'd have LOVED to see that raccoon in action.

[Christiansmommy]

That is funny!

That reminds me of a similar story. We had one of those intex pools. The kind that you blow up the outer rim, and as you fill it with water the sides hold up....so basically it was a very flexible pool....sturdy, but flexible...about 2-3 feet deep.

Well, we would go outside and notice it had half the water missing... but no leaks...NOTHING!! And all of the water was always saturated on the one side of the pool...making the grass extra mushy.

So one day, I figured it out and saw Mr. Groundhog....putting his 2 front legs on the side, making that side of the pool kinda collapse...and he was getting a drink....and a waterfall of water that would gush down on him!! The walls of the pool would bounce back up after he was done,and he'd be on his way...anyway, that one really had us scratching our heads for a while there!!!

[Jadapit]

That is really funny! :D Did you know that raccoons have thumbs? They can open cupboard doors if they want to. So tell your friends its lucky for them that the raccoon didn't get inside the house. :p

[lizbud]

That is too funny. Instead of getting mad, she should have gotten a video of it and sent it into Funniest Home Videos - she might have gotten $10,000 out of it!


That's what I thought too. :) I would have loved to see this in person.

[Edwina's Secretary]

That is funny!

That reminds me of a similar story. We had one of those intex pools. The kind that you blow up the outer rim, and as you fill it with water the sides hold up....so basically it was a very flexible pool....sturdy, but flexible...about 2-3 feet deep.

Well, we would go outside and notice it had half the water missing... but no leaks...NOTHING!! And all of the water was always saturated on the one side of the pool...making the grass extra mushy.

So one day, I figured it out and saw Mr. Groundhog....putting his 2 front legs on the side, making that side of the pool kinda collapse...and he was getting a drink....and a waterfall of water that would gush down on him!! The walls of the pool would bounce back up after he was done,and he'd be on his way...anyway, that one really had us scratching our heads for a while there!!!

You were lucky! The raccoons put holes in my inflatable pool! They have incredible claws!

[gemini9961]

They are very smart little critters. When I was a kid camping with my family we had our cooler with food in it as usual. Well the sneaky little coon opened the cooler and proceeded to take off with our plastic container with lettuce in it. Dad went chasing after him and recovered the container. They would also hang very close to the fire pit if food was cooking and would try to grab it off there as well. You really have to watch them as they are quick. Here's my most recent coon story in pics.

This past November my hubby and I went on vacation to North Carolina. One day we visited Grandfather Mountain. We decided to pull into one of the picnic areas and have some lunch. There was no one else at this particular area so we got our food out and proceeded to eat. I had walked past the trash can and threw in some trash and albeit there was movement in the trash can. At first I thought I was hearing something so I told my hubby that I thought there was something in there. Being the curious one that I am, I pushed in the lid and these little eyes stare back at me. I JUMP back and scream to my hubby that I think there is a bobcat in there. :eek: I only saw the eyes and that was my first thought. Well I decide to look again :o because that's what I do..... :D Well to my delight it is not a bobcat but a coon. Poor little guy had gotten in there looking for food and could not get back out. These trash cans are made to keep critters out but the door was not closed all the way and he was able to push it open and then not be able to get out. Well we can't leave him in there so what to do, what to do. Either get him out ourselves or tell the front gate about it him. Amber to the rescue, let's get him out. Yes, he is wild and could have had rabies, I know better but I had to help him out of there. So with a plan (kinda) we proceed to get him out. Sadie was on this trip with us so she was put back in the car in case he got out and took off after her for some reason or she went after him. Hubby is going to pull the lid off the trash can with the quickness in case he JUMPS out. :eek:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070065.jpg

Well he didn't jump out so I decided to peek in and snap his pic.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070066.jpg
The Titleist box is what I threw in there.

Cute lil guy isn't he?

Now how to get him out....ahhh see those chains hanging on the side. Hey, we will put those on the inside and he can grab onto them and pull himself out.

We see the chains moving from the safety of the car, but alas no coon pops out. Dang it, now what?

Ah, I have an extra towel in the car, let's tie it on there and put that inside so he can grab onto something thicker with more texture. I had the extra towels for Sadie in case of any accidents. Who knew it would be a coon saver? :)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070067.jpg
Ok towel in.....let the coon come out now. Well we hear the chains moving and the towel is moving so we figure he must have figured it out. We just hoped that the towel was tied tight enough. Within a few minutes we see his little head emerge and out he comes. Yay....he's saved.

[gemini9961]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070068.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070069.jpg
He surveyed the rim of the trash can before he jumped down and was on his way.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070070.jpg

I followed him around the rock to make sure he was moving along but he was a thirsty little guy and stopped for some water before going over the rock.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070071.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070072.jpg

Yay....we did it. He was not too shy, maybe he let me take his pic as he was grateful for getting him out of there? Before we left I made sure the lid on the trash can was closed properly so no other little coon would get trapped.

Here's a couple of pics of Sadie on her first vacation.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070064.jpg
She didn't want to look up at me.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y146/gemini9961/2007_1118Vacation070004.jpg
On top of Mt. Mitchell. It was 27 degrees, cold for us FL gals. I put her on the ground with her sweater on but she wasn't having it. So inside my jacket she went. :)

Thanks for reading my story.

[dukedogsmom]

That's so cute! What a great story and I'm so glad you had your camera.

[Twisterdog]

Here's my other raccoon story: When my grandmother was a little girl, her father brought a baby raccoon home for her. She raised it and they kept it as a pet.

My great-grandmother would bake dozens and dozens of cookies and put them on the table to cool. Of course, the raccoon wanted to steal them. She would watched him sneak up the chair and take just one cookie.

As you might know, raccoons like to wash everything before eating it. So, he took the cookie outside to the handpump on the water well, where there was always a little puddle of water. He washed and washed that cookie ... which of course dissolved away. She said he was so puzzled, and looked all around on the ground and in both his hands for it, over and over. Then she said he just sat down on the ground, held his hands out, looked at them and "just cried like a baby."

But ... he never washed another cookie!

[Pembroke_Corgi]

OH my gosh what cool raccoon stories! They are such intelligent little creatures. And so CUTE! :D

[RICHARD]

But NEVER once did the raccoon leave the lid on the garbage can up!

How many men can say that?????




Being a tad under 6' 2" I have yet to find a trash can I could pee into. :confused: :eek: