The Fraters Libertas point out a shocking dereliction of duty on the part of the police.
With her husband and two sons out of town, what’s a smart, sensible city woman to do if she finds a rabid raccoon in the garage of the family’s weekend house?
Dial 911.
It was the obvious solution, or so thought Marie-Claude Stockl after discovering a foaming-at-the-mouth visitor at her Ancramdale, N.Y., retreat. Ms. Stockl, a pharmaceutical executive from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, accustomed to resolving apartment issues with a single phone call to the doorman, assumed the police would rush to her rescue.
Instead, the officer on duty expected her to exercise a little country self-sufficiency: “Just shoot it!” When she explained that she didn’t own a gun, the officer retorted impatiently, “Then use your husband’s gun!”
Their conversation went around in circles, and Ms. Stockl hung up, fuming. Ten minutes later, the raccoon died. Thinking that Dutchess County officials would want to track rabid animals, Ms. Stockl called again, asking the same officer if he would like to come by and dispose of the corpse. “Oh no, that’s fine – you can do that,” he drawled.
I always enjoy stories about Strong Independent Women. Note that she’s a not just a smart, sensible woman, she’s an executive, and yet she can’t even handle a DYING RACCOON!
I know, I know. I’m just saying that because I feel threatened and I can’t get laid.