Awe! Isn't he a cute critter?  This raccoon was spotted at my neighbor's back door in Horn Rapids the other night. He's anything BUT stupid.

He's a bold little guy. Ok, the neighbor told me the raccoon is actually twice the size of their English bulldog. They've seen the critter twice and claim, "He's HUGE! " And, he's pretty smart. The neighbors were storing the dog food in a closed bin outside on the patio, and this guy figured out how to open the bin.

As of this writing, the food has been moved indoors. The neighbors have three dogs and are mostly inside.

When I saw the photo, it reminded me of my old dog, Davey. He was a beagle-bulldog mix who brought us great joy most of the time.

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Several years ago while residing in Mishawaka, Indiana, we lived in a house, across the street from the St. Joseph River. One morning, my husband, Jeff, had taken Davey for a walk. As they approached the house, Jeff let Davey off his leash, believing he'd run for the front door. Nope. Davey chased a raccoon under Jeff's car. Minutes later, the poor pup was completely surrounded by a PACK of raccoons. Poor Davey. Poor Jeff. I'm not completely sure how they made it out of that fiasco.

We lost Davey in 2008 at the age of 15. He had quite the life, though. He LOVED being outside and wasn't afraid of anything. He chased fireworks and a skunk, once.

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That ended badly. Davey got sprayed and smelled for weeks. Poor Davey. Has your dog ever been skunked? Feel free to tell us your experience on our app.

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