Man Kills Rabid Raccoon With Bread Knife For Attacking Family Dog

A Maine man intervened during a fight between a raccoon and his dog, and killed the rabid raccoon with a bread knife, local media said Monday. Charlie Weidman told local media his family continued to get rabies shots after the incident took place at their home in Hope.

Weidman, a volunteer firefighter, was informed by one of his daughters about the fight between his dog Zeke, a 65-pound terrier mix, and the raccoon. Initially the daughter could not identify the creature the dog was fighting with. The scuffle between the two animals took place outside the house.

Weidman’s wife and youngest daughter yelled thinking it would break up the fight. His daughter also tried to kick the raccoon, which was inside the dog’s mouth.

“The dog had the raccoon by the belly and the raccoon had the dog by the face,” Weidman said, adding after multiple kicks, the raccoon landed at his feet. “I put one foot on its neck and the other on its belly to hold it down.”

Later he used a serrated bread knife to slit the raccoon’s throat.

“There was a lot of blood involved. The dog was acting like ‘Thanks dad, you’ve got me a treat,'” he said.

Weidman reportedly contacted the town’s animal control officer, who took the carcass of the raccoon to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Augusta where they found it tested positive for rabies.

Following the reports, which came two days after the incident took place last week, the family went to get their first in a series of rabies shots. Their fourth and final shots are due later this week, according to media reports.

Weidman said his dog Zeke received a booster shot, as well as some antibiotics, and the family decided to impose a voluntary modified quarantine on Zeke as precaution.

A similar incident took place last year when a resident killed a raccoon by drowning it in a puddle after she was attacked by the animal.