Ever read Born Free? Lions aren’t really tameable either, though it’s easier since they’re pack animals and as long as you’re the alpha they have no problem deferring to you. Of course Elsa the lioness could have challenged Joy for alpha status at any time. Or could have forgotten her strength and done serious damage in a moment of pique. Joy chose to run that risk. The same judgement call is made by folks managing performing animals, including dangerous ones. By comparison, a raccoon is a minor nuisance.
I agree that it isn’t something to go into with your eyes shut and denying the realities. Yes, it’s a wild animal and has to be treated as one. But that’s between the human and the raccoon, and there’s going to be individual personality variations on both sides. As long as the human has reasonable expectations and is willing to work with that, I think it’s up to him to decide whether that constitutes an acceptable relationship – with the understanding, as with any pet, that he has undertaken a responsibility and can’t just abandon the critter if he runs into difficulties later.
Hard doesn’t always mean can’t-be-done or shouldn’t-be-done. Again, the question is how the relationship was formed.
Heck, there are people who don’t know how to be alphas with their dogs; a lot of what obedience schools deal with is actually training the humans to occupy that role.
