Rosie the Raccoon

I  know what you are thinking.  You noticed that there is a leash on this raccoon.  Well, you are correct.  There is a leash.

This was my pet raccoon, Rosie.  I was 13 years old when someone game me Rosie as a "kit".  A baby raccoon is called a kit.  She was a few months old in this photo.

She lived in a cage when she wasn't out playing with me.  She knew her name and would come when you called her.

Raccoons are very smart. Rosie was no exception.  

When she was about 6 or 7 months old she picked the lock of her cage and killed one of our chickens.
Unfortunately this experience turned her into her natural wild self. 

My parents couldn't go near her anymore.  She still played with me but it was getting too rough for me. 

My parents felt she was too much for me to handle so she was given to a family who had a teenage son.  I missed her.

Has anyone heard of a pet raccoon before?  If so, please let me know,