A few days ago I was outside in front of my home in the evening and it was fully dark. I caught a huge raccoon, the size of a medium sized dog at my garbage bin contemplating the best way to gain access. I made some incredibly loud and ferocious sounds as I ran towards it. Luckily it ran as well. The raccoon dashed straight between my house and the neighbour’s. My thought was that if I came across scary enough, it would remember me for at least the rest of the evening and leave my garbage alone overnight. No different than any other preventative security measure. I was simply making my garbage less attractive or at least hoping to, so it wouldn’t be targeted, especially after the skunk episode.
It was a very dark night with no moonlight, so the space between the homes had close to zero visibility. As I got closer to where I had last seen the raccoon dash off; I started to think differently of my plan and stopped. Not only can I not see anything, the backyard was completely rabbit proofed to protect our vegetable garden, so it wouldn’t be able to slip underneath. Given its size, I questioned whether it would be able to scale the gate or fence. It could be trapped. I decided to back off.
I’ve sat through enough educational sessions with Rob Shuster to know that going into an area without proper knowledge of what you’re going into can be risky. For example, Rob will be hosting a session on February 19th titled ‘Expatriating Employees to Latin America – The Challenges’. Rob will address current crime trends, medical concerns in the area, selection of safe shopping areas, and other topics related to planning and ensuring staff have a smooth transition. Knowing what you’re getting into before you get into it to properly plan.
I didn’t know what I was getting into if I pursued the raccoon. Sure enough, the beast came waddling out after a while and headed down the street towards the forest. So I avoided a confrontation, and I guess I owe Rob Shuster a lunch.