Little Masked Bandit

We were scared awake this morning by some very frantic barking. This was about 3:00 AM. The dog was going absolutely nuts. She was about 10 or 20 feet from our bedroom window. We sleep with our windows open so it was quite loud. By the time we got up to see what all the rukus was about the dog had what ever it was up against the house. We have a bench on the south side of the house and the dog had it trapped under it. We couldn't see what it was since it was so close to the house. Man, did it sound mean. It was growling and making noises that I can't even describe. There was a lot of speculation as to what it was. Betty thought it might be a Bobcat or a Badger. I know Badgers are extremely vicious and I didn't think they would let a dog get them cornered under a bench. Well after much discussion, and much concern for my safety from Betty, I decided to step out the door with a flashlight to see what kind of mean animal decided to visit us. I have to admit I was a little leary. Well, I steppped out onto the steps and looked down to see a young raccoon! Not even as big as a house cat. How could that little raccoon make all that noise. We think the dog must have gotten it separated from it's mommy. Betty did say she thought she heard something scamper up a tree just before we got up. We finally got back to bed about 4:00 AM. Needless to say we were both wide awake. I don't know what time I finally went to sleep. What an exciting morning. Have a great day everybody.