Earlier this week, a pair of raccoon dogs were reported to be “terrorising” a village in the United Kingdom after they escaped from a nearby enclosure. Raccoon dogs, also called tanukis, look like supermodel raccoons with their lanky limbs, slender necks, and soulful eyes. But they’re actually wild canines, most closely related to foxes. The stories that came out of Nottinghamshire—a goat and pony attacked, a dog walker spooked, the invading beasts chased off with big pieces of wood—demonstrate all the ways you shouldn’t interact with tanukis. But if one did need to keep a raccoon dog happy, fed, and well tended, how would a responsible animal caretaker do it right?
