Heya, to all that have raccoons around them, in yards, in gardens in particular:
Be aware that most raccoons (I think the number in the last study I read was over 90%) carry Baylisascaris Procyonis, a roundworm that can cause really nasty disease in humans. It’s fecal-oral transmission, but the microscopic eggs can even be inhaled (and then swallowed in mucus) if you’re cleaning somewhere where a racoon pooped a while back, and it’s dried out.
I like raccoons (as I do not have small outside domestic animals that I care about), but would definitely not want them setting up camp on my property.
And relevant to this story: If this lade really did drown a raccoon with her bare hands, I don’t see a way that she could avoid scratches/bites (and saliva contamination of said wounds).
A rabid animal is essentially a zombie. Normal empathy towards animals no longer applies when they become rabid. If I remember correctly, rule 7 about the zombie apocalypse is “She is not your mother anymore”.
I did witness a couple of very heated discussions about why being a vegan is better than being a vegetarian and vice versa. Can’t remember any of the points raised, though. I guess there really weren’t any as the road from discussion to argument to shouting match of personal insults was usually rather short (“Shut up, tofu shoes!”). One time, they1) even managed to reach full Godwin in under three minutes (“Hitler was a vegetarian!” “Hitler wasn’t really a vegetarian, he just didn’t eat meat!”).
1) The names and places shall be withheld to protect the innocent stupid. Let’s just say the category is “fun times at the university cafeteria”.
