Armed with a dog pole and lacrosse stick, two West Shore RCMP officers caught and released a masked intruder that found its way into a Langford home.
On Aug. 22 at 9:40 p.m., people called police reporting that there was screaming coming from inside a home in the 500 block of Leckfield Avenue, and reports that a dog had been attacked.
Sandra Garland had let her dog Chance out into the backyard to pee before bed when she heard Chance yowling for help.
“So I opened the door and I could see him on our patio and he was being attacked by a raccoon,” Garland explained. “So I screamed, I know the neighbours heard. I jumped on the raccoon to get him off the dog and the dog took off.”
She said the raccoon then bolted after the dog, straight into the family’s kitchen.
Miles Brown, Garland’s husband, said that’s when he came downstairs to see what the commotion was about.
He found the raccoon in the kitchen and grabbed the first thing he found that could be a weapon, the family guitar.
Brown said he swung the guitar at the masked bandit and ended up smashing it on the floor by accident.
“The raccoon ended up in [the bathroom] and when it realized it was trapped I just quickly closed that door,” Brown said.
Once the animal was trapped, Brown called 911 asking for animal control.
“When I mentioned our address they said ‘don’t worry we will see if we can find animal control, but we actually have officers on the way. Your neighbours have called because of the screaming and commotion in the backyard,'” he explained.
When officers arrived, they said animal control was unable to come so they would just help.
“When we opened, it was hanging from the ceiling fan and it was a pretty upset little critter,” Const. Andrew Matheson with West Shore RCMP said.
Brown offered up a lacrosse stick for the officers to use, and they also used a dog pole they brought and caught the raccoon, while the homeowners filmed.
“We had to use a snare to basically grab him and usher him out the door himself, released him, at which point he ran off into the night,” Matheson said.
RCMP said this was a bizarre encounter for police.
“We generally do not attend wildlife calls however, residents in the home had received injuries from this animal and Animal Control was not available, so the officers stepped in to help,” said Cpl. Nancy Saggar, West Shore RCMP media relations officer.
Both Garland and the dog Chance suffered minor scratches and punctures from the encounter.
Garland and Brown told CHEK News the raccoon caused minor damages to the house and they have filed a claim with their insurance company.
The family and police are both laughing about the encounter and said it’s one they will never forget.
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Laura Brougham
Mackenzie Read
