I think that we can all agree that if we were woken up in the middle of the night by some weird noise, we wouldn’t be able to go back to the peaceful sleep we were in.
This would be especially true if we heard the strange noise coming from within our house.
Well, that is exactly what a homeowner in Santa Cruz, California, experienced. However, when she finally found out what was causing the noise, her heart melted.
Intruder Alert
When the Santa Cruz resident first heard the noise, she thought it was just the wind moving some things around, so she managed to go back to bed.
However, when she heard the noise again, this time, much louder, she realized that it was actually coming from inside the house.
Deciding to go investigate, she was left completely shocked.
As she turned on the lights, the homeowner found out that her home had been completely ransacked.
Her chairs were knocked over, the potted plants were completely tipped over, and even the paintings on the wall were crooked.
After looking around all that mess and observing the damage, she noticed something cute hiding behind a mirror.
The Cutest Trespasser
As it turned out, the culprits were a little family of raccoons – a mother and her little baby.
Apparently, they managed to get inside the house through the dog door, letting themselves explore the house and making a mess in the process.
As soon as the pair realized they were caught red-handed, the mother managed to run to the door and get out, leaving her son behind.
Not knowing how to get the baby raccoon to follow his mom, the homeowner decided to call some reinforcements.
Soon, the owner of Urban Trapping Wildlife Control, Dan Burton, was on the scene.
“We were walking through her house, and there’s stuff all knocked over. We got to the bedroom where the raccoon was, and it looked like someone had thrown a total tantrum. It was something else,” Dan told The Dodo.
Even though it took Dan some time to capture the furry little guy, as he was constantly running away, in the end, he managed to grab him without causing any more damage to the home.
“We were able to carry him out where his mom was and then let him go. I’m sure he reunited with his mom,” he added.
Dan generously decided to stick around and help the homeowner clean up the mess made by the adorable little rascals.
The clean-up went by really fast and, luckily, there was no serious damage and nobody was injured.
“She was more than thrilled that the raccoons were out of her house and that she was able to get back to sleep. She was glad no one was hurt. She said, ‘Where we live, you still have tons of wildlife to share it with.’ She gets that. They play a major role in our ecosystem,” he concluded.
Final Word
This homeowner did the right thing by calling Dan for help.
Since raccoons can carry rabies, an infectious disease that can be transmitted to humans through a bite from a rabid animal, it is best if they are handed over to trained professionals.
If you also end up finding a fluffy raccoon in your house, please keep a safe distance and do the same thing.