Journi Black photo/CBS Philadelphia
The girl was rushed to St. Christopher’ Hospital for Children where she received 64 stiches during an operation. Doctors were able to save her right eye. The infant received a rabies shot. Journi is said to be in fair condition.
It could take up to a year for the baby to fully recover according to doctors who were taking care of her. She remains hospitalized.
Rodgers and her two children moved into the rental apartment just days before this attack. Sightings of raccoons are commonplace in this area because of trash according to neighbors. Rodgers had reported a sighting of a raccoon in the apartment earlier the same day. The landlord chased it out of the apartment.
The landlord who purchased the property in May appears to be renting rooms illegally according to the city’s Licenses and Inspections Department.
“It’s just ridiculous,” the girl’s father, Samuel Black, said. “My daughter could have lost her life.”
The family plans to take legal action against the landlord. Black said “There’s no reason an animal should have gotten into the house with minors.” “It’s his responsibility.”
Rodgers said the building needs to be shut down. “Everybody needs to leave out of there,” Rodgers said.
A raccoon can enter your building anywhere she finds or can make a 4-inch hole. If her head fits, she can squeeze her body through the hole. Favorite access spots are chimneys, weak soffits, dormers, and under eaves. Unfinished areas, such as under decks, are also favorite doors, as are locations where two types of material meet (brick to wood or siding to stucco).
Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein is a television talk show host, speaker, writer and is an unabashed animal advocate. Her love for animals and quest for the hard truth is what drives her passion for all things animals. She hosts the show, ” A Close-Up Look at Animal Welfare Issues.” She adores her once-abused tripawd, Brody. If you’d like Tina to talk to your group or have a story, please email her at tevangelistaepp@yahoo.com. Like https://www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookAtAnimalWelfareIssues and check out AnimalWelfareIssues.com for all the tv shows, articles, and podcasts you may have missed!
That is not normal behavior for a raccoon. They need to pick up the trash more often. Bizarre.