will race to the fridge, whenever they hear
someone getting ice out of the refrigerator.
Claudio and Carmel have interestingly,
been buddies since the beginning. They often
wrestle good-naturedly and chase each other
around the house. When Carmel tires of
her rambunctious playmate, she takes off to
unknown parts for a break. Jason thinks it was
probably by watching Carmel use her cat box,
that she taught the coon that he should use
one also. Claudio is also very cat-like in that
he has his own agenda, and comes around for
attention when he wants, and then disappears
to curl up for naps.
Jet’s younger sister, Winry; aged eight,
is also a great help with Claudio’s care. It is
Winry that usually takes him out for walks
on the leash, to help him get some much
needed outdoor exercise and expend some
crazy raccoon energy. Jason shares that the
downside to having a raccoon as a pet is that,
“They are extremely curious, and will get into
absolutely EVERYTHING! Claudio loves to
get into the trash can, will open cabinets and
delve into anything that’s left out. Nothing’s off
limits.” Raccoons paws look more like black,
leather gloved hands, and are adept at opening
doors, latches and even able to unscrew jar
lids. It’s a little like having a toddler on the
loose. Unlike wild raccoons that are usually
nocturnal in nature, Claudio has adjusted to
his human family’s schedule and is usually
awake when they are, and sleeps when they do.
Besides his daily walks, Claudio has also
been on regular road trips to Colorado. “He
did really well in the car, and just hung out in
back with the kids.” Jason relates. The family
were really surprised when they made an
impromptu bathroom break at a rest stop, and
found another couple outside with a raccoon
of their own. Jason said, “It was about a month
younger than Claudio, but they checked
each other out and were friendly.” Claudio
has also gone Kayaking on the lake with Jet
and her mom, Trisha. Jet recalls, “At first he
accidentally fell into the water. We had him
on a leash, so I could easily scoop him back
up. But then he kept purposely jumping back
in. He loves the water!” Jason also had an
unexpected guest one morning, when Claudio
hopped in the tub and joined him for a quick
shower.
Claudio is probably less than half grown at
two months old. He currently weighs under
ten pounds. The average raccoon in the wild
can weigh anywhere from twenty to thirty five
pounds, and have a length of about three feet
from nose to tail. That’s the size of a medium
dog. The heaviest raccoon ever recorded was
over sixty pounds in Texas. Captive raccoons
can live more than twenty years, but the
lifespan of a wild raccoon is much shorter
and averages one and a half to three years.
Hunting and injury from vehicles are the most
common causes of fatalities. Jason says that he
thinks part of the reason Claudio might prefer
to be in the house, is because it’s so much
cooler inside, especially during the heat of
summer.
Life with children and pets is always an
adventure. Jason and Jet agree that the best
thing about having a pet raccoon is being
able to watch it grow and see how it’s so
very unique from every other pet they have.
They’ve enjoyed getting to learn Claudio’s
personality and habits, and to learn what
his different purring, soft growls, grunts
and snorts mean. For the Yaggie children,
Winry and Claudio
vCLAUDIO continued on page 25
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HERVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019v11