Curiosity Nearly Killed the Raccoon

A raccoon too curious for its own good got a plastic bottle stuck on its head and apparently survived several days without food or water before being rescued in Morris Plains.

Fire Chief Mike Geary said he received a phone call from the at about 4:30 Tuesday afternoon asking for assistance with some kind of distressed animal in a tree on Jaqui Avenue.

" responded with 2 chiefs to assess the situation, which was a raccoon in a tree with a plastic bottle stuck on its head.  Apparently the animal had been there for a few days," Geary said.

The fire department brought out its ladder truck so that an animal control officer could grab the raccoon from the tree and cage it.

Meredith Petrillo, the Denville animal control officer who also serves Morris Plains, told us what happened next. 

"The raccoon went to the Animal Clinic of Morris Plains, which is Dr. Paul Sedlacek's animal hospital. We had a veterinary tech hold one end of the raccoon and I pulled the bottle from the other end. It was removed and he was very happy it was removed. Stunned, but happy. We provided him with some water, which he really, really needed and a little food and then at about 7:30 he was released." 

Petrillo said the raccoon was let go in a wooded area close to the tree where it was found.

"He was doing fine and he was very happy that the event was over," she said.