North Dakota woman who brought raccoon to bar slapped with charges
She’ll need a fur-ocious legal defense.
A North Dakota woman who brought a wild raccoon to a bar was charged Wednesday with three crimes.
Erin Christensen, 38, was accused of unlawful possession of furbearers, lying to investigators and tampering with evidence.
Christensen brought the raccoon, which she and her family named Rocky, to a bar in the 500-person town of Maddock on Sept. 6. When authorities found out, they issued a rabies alert.
A raccoon, which is not legal to own as a pet in North Dakota.
Cops later tracked down Christensen, who said she found Rocky on the side of the road three months ago and was nursing him back to health along with her family. She said Rocky never left her arms while they were at the bar together.
Owning a pet raccoon is illegal in North Dakota, so authorities seized Rocky and killed him. The raccoon later tested negative for rabies.
“It’s unfair and too much was done to detain an innocent raccoon,” Christensen told the Bismarck Tribune. “They were not worried about the health of us, if we had rabies or not. They were worried about finding and killing Rocky and putting me behind bars.”
If convicted, Christensen faces up to two years in prison and a $7,500 fine.
With News Wire Services
