Raccoon dogs have been terrorizing local residents of an English village in Nottinghamshire after two of the dogs escaped their enclosure.
Local residents of Clarborough village, Mandy Marsh, 53, and her husband Dale Marsh, 54, said a “blood-curdling scream” woke them up Tuesday morning. Mandy said her husband went outside to see what happened and found a strange animal attacking their pony and goat.
“This raccoon was absolutely crazy. It was hissing and screaming and snarling. It was going absolutely mad,” Marsh said. She added the pony was trying to shield their goat from the raccoon dog, which was attempting to kill the goat.
The Marshes said they armed themselves with wood planks to scare off the brute. The couple engaged in a two-hour face-off with the raccoon dog before the animal was chased off by the wood-wielding duo.
The raccoon dogs have attacked livestock, and police are planning on using a helicopter to find the animals if they are not found soon.
Raccoon dogs are wild animals that belong to the canid family, which includes wolves, foxes, and dogs. They look like raccoons and have claws which allow them to climb.
Police urged residents to be vigilant in response to the dangerous animals and call the police if they spot the two dogs.
“The animals, which are described as being the same size of a medium- to small-sized dog, are potentially dangerous if approached as they are not domesticated,” the police said in a statement.
