Coati Attack written about on MySpace

  It's been a slow news month as far as coatimundi are concerned.  Don't be discouraged, though.  I have some really interesting posts coming up.
  For now, I thought I'd start this year with a post that I found on MySpace concerning the dangers of owning an exotic animal...ESPECIALLY a coatimundi.  This post shows how a sudden attack has nothing to do with the human/animal connection.  A wild animal is, and always will be, a wild animal.  Keyword in that last sentence? Wild.
  What this woman describes happening to her is something that I've dealt with as well.  What I really can't seem to wrap my head around is toward the end where she states that, "things have now forever changed as far as Cody and will most probably look for another place for him to go."  THIS is EXACTLY the kind of thing I don't grasp.  An incident like this takes place and people immediately think that their relationship with the animal is severed.  It's not.  It's a moment where that key word, 'wild', comes out once in a while in a blaze of ugly glory.  When something like this occurs, the human being assumes that things will never be the same.  Exotic animals will freak out on occasion.  It's just a part of life.  To have one, know the dangers associated with it, keep the animal with that knowledge and then toss it to some kind of sanctuary where you tell them it attacked you, you're setting up the animal as a menace when in actuality it was just doing what it does.  You have to deal with that, take responsibility for not paying attention for a split-second, come to terms with it and realize that you'll now have to crank up your own inner-alpha-animal behavior to show that animal where that it stands in your relationship.  And a two-year-old coati who's testing his boundaries?  Like trying to convince a pro-wrestler that repeatedly slamming your scrawny body into the turnbuckle is outside his job description.
  While I realize that what I just said sounds a little odd or like I'm some kind of nut-job, that's just a fact.  It was a two-year-old coati she wrote about and it's ABSOLUTELY going to take a shot at you and you HAVE to be prepared to be the dominate animal.  The hormones of a two-year-old coati (and later on at about eight years of age) are like that of a ten-year-old ADD child on crack!  They're like blenders on wheels that have about four quarts of Red Bull in them and quite honestly it shouldn't come as a surprise.
  I'm going to apologize and ease it down a notch.  There's just this thing with people where, and this applies to a LOT of private, backyard animal 'rehab' centers, people think they're doing a great service.  However, the mintue something goes wrong the animal's no longer 'cute' and able to be handled.  The animal's then sent off to a place that can actually provide for the animal.  Sure not all animal rehabilitation centers are going to do this, but it happens more than it should and that saddens me.  
  My apologies again for such a lengthy, wordy post.  I'll end it simply by posting what caused me to gush so many words about something that I can't preach about enough: Wild animals are wild.  And a two-year-old coatimundi? They're worse than that.
(This is the actual post.  I simply copied and pasted.  So no remarks about grammar.)

Had a very interesting, and painful, day, and it illustrated completly why I try so hard to make people understand that exotic and wild animals are NOT good pets, but only for those who know how to handle them, and even we can get hurt. Thank you to Linda, Cynthia and the staff at Dr. Pitts office. Story below
This is "Cody" the 2 year old male coati mundi here at Seven's Heaven. He was one of 6 rescued and the one I kept here. He is included in tours and visits as I explain to people why a coati mundi is not a good pet. He can be loving, as in the picture, and funny and sweet, but yesterday I believe his hormones and natural aggression got the better of him..and me too.
I was cleaning in the nursery where he was for the winter and found a toy I thought he would like. I opened the cage to put it in and he jum
ped on my chest and chirped and I tried to put him back into his cage and he became enraged and attacked me. He has never been very agressive except for one small bite to one helper and a bit cranky with a visitor.
This was a full out attack. He hopped on my back and began clawing and biting the back of my head and when I was finally able to get him off, I was a bloody mess and close to shock.
I was able to get out of the room and shut the door and get to the house and called Linda right away. With so much blood I thouht I was probably ripped wide open but because it was all in the back of my head I could not see. But thanks to the good Lord watching over me, it was not serious.... When Linda arrived she was able to se 3 fairly large gashes and some bites and multiple scratches. She said I would need stitches, which didn't make me happy at all, no insurance and all.
We were able to contain him in a live trap and go for medical care for me.
It was not as bad as it felt, and I only had 2 stitches and some steri strips, but the real damage was to my feelings as things have now forever changed as far as Cody and will most probably look for another place for him to go. I am just so grateful that at this point he does not have to be put down and even more grateful it was me and not a helper.
So again, please, before you buy an exotic pet or try to keep a wild animal as a pet, think about this, it could happen to you or one of your kids, or even someone else and then you are looking at a law suit.
Exotic animals and wild animals are NEVER good pets. Please remeber that when you are looking that cute baby!!!
When Linda arrived she was able to se 3 fairly large gashes and some bites and multiple scratches. She said I would need stitches, which didn't make me happy at all, no insurance and all.
We were able to contain him in a live trap and go for medical care for me.
It was not as bad as it felt, and I only had 2 stitches and some steri strips, but the real damage was to my feelings as things have now forever changed as far as Cody and will most probably look for another place for him to go. I am just so grateful that at this point he does not have to be put down and even more grateful it was me and not a helper.
So again, please, before you buy an exotic pet or try to keep a wild animal as a pet, think about this, it could happen to you or one of your kids, or even someone else and then you are looking at a law suit.
Exotic animals and wild animals are NEVER good pets. Please remember that when you are looking that cute baby!!!