Raccoon chases dog into house, gets locked in bathroom

Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Police in British Columbia responded to a home to eject an unusual "masked bandit" -- a raccoon that followed a dog into the house.

The West Shore RCMP said officers responded to the Langford home where a medium-sized dog had tussled with a raccoon before fleeing into the house -- with the raccoon still in pursuit.

The residents of the home had managed to close the raccoon into a bathroom.

Police said they received a second call from a concerned neighbor about screams that turned out to have been from the family's encounter with the surly trash panda.

Officers used a dog-catching pole and a lacrosse stick supplied by the family to capture the raccoon.

"After putting up a pretty decent fight, the racoon was secured by the officers and was released outside," police said in a news release.

West Shore RCMP Public Relations Officer Cpl. Nancy Saggar described the incident as "a bizarre encounter for police."