A brave pup named Olive was the target of a dangerous raccoon attack just outside of her Lake County, Florida, home this past Friday.
Olive was out on a walk with her eleven-year-old best friend, Sawyer, when the pair came across a rather large raccoon who was up to no good. Olive was the first to see the raccoon and immediately alerted Sawyer to its presence.
“A raccoon just came out of nowhere and Olive saw it and she charged towards it and she started barking,” says owner Sawyer Inman of the incident.
Olive approached the wild animal attempting to scare it away from Sawyer. The raccoon, however, was not going to be scared off easily. It immediately bit Olive, and she began yelping loudly.
Sawyer was scared that Olive may have been seriously injured by this altercation and knew he had to intervene. He picked up a nearby empty glass bottle and began hitting the raccoon repeatedly until it passed out, no longer able to hurt Olive.
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However, Olive was not the only one injured in this dangerous situation. Once his adrenaline came to a screeching halt, Sawyer realized that he, too, had been bitten by the raccoon.
After ensuring that Olive’s injuries were only minor, Sawyer began walking back to his house with the dangerous creature, now unconscious, in tow.
Once the trio had arrived at their destination, Sawyer called his mother, Christina, telling her that “something really bad” had happened.
Sawyer’s mother rushed home immediately and took Sawyer to the closest emergency room to have his battle wounds examined. The doctors administered a series of injections to prevent rabies. No doubt, all the while praising the young man’s heroics.
Olive’s injuries were minor, and she has since made a full recovery. Thankfully, Olive was up-to-date on her vaccinations at the time of the attack. Rabies disease has a 100% fatality rate, and there is no treatment for animals who have been infected.
Sawyer’s treatments and Olive’s vaccine status at the time of the incident will protect their lives should the raccoon have been carrying any dangerous diseases.
Since the incident, the Inman family has dedicated their time to spreading the word about the presence of dangerous wildlife in the area surrounding their homes. They are urging county officials to release a Rabies Alert for all of Lake County so that others don’t get hurt.
“The (neighborhood) kids walk the animals all the time out here by themselves,” says Inman, “I wouldn’t have thought about it. So it’s super scary.”
The raccoon was taken into the custody of the county health department and is currently being tested for potential disease. The results of this testing will determine whether or not Sawyer will require additional treatments, though he is expected to make a full recovery.
For now, Sawyer and Olive are taking time to rest and are enjoying the attention they have received as Lake County’s latest local heroes.
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