Bluffton raccoon stuck, “nearly swimming” in storm drain. One cop knew what to do

One Bluffton police officer is starting to get a reputation as a raccoon rescuer.

On Monday morning, Bluffton Police Officer Joe DeLong and Sgt. Bonefacio Perez responded to a call by a resident saying a raccoon was stuck in a storm drain in Sheridan Park, according to Joy Nelson, spokesperson for the department.

The officers couldn’t lift the heavy grate covering the storm drain, so they enlisted firefighters from the Bluffton Township Fire District to help.

The drain was filled with water from overnight rain.

“The poor raccoon was almost swimming ... and getting really tired,” Nelson said.

She said the officers were afraid the raccoon was going to drown.

Photos posted on the Bluffton Police Department’s Facebook page show DeLong — who works with K-9 Teeko — making a loop in a dog leash and lowering the loop into the storm drain.

DeLong was able to get the leash around the raccoon and pull it to safety, Nelson said.

Once freed, it climbed a nearby tree, the Facebook post said.

DeLong reported that the raccoon wasn’t aggressive or showing signs of rabies, Nelson said.

If it had been sick, she explained, it likely would not have been able to keep itself from drowning.

DeLong also had a hand in trying to help a different raccoon recently.

A lethargic raccoon was blocking traffic on May River Road on July 17 when the officer used a dog leash to help get the animal off of the busy road, according to Nelson.

In that case, wildlife experts were called to pick up the raccoon and try to nurse it back to health.

Matt Kraycar of K&K Wildlife Services said he put the ailing raccoon into a cage so it could be transported, but it didn’t survive the trip.

“I was trying to get him somewhere to figure out what was wrong with him and get him some help,” Kraycar said. “It didn’t work out like we wanted it to.”

This story was originally published July 30, 2018 at 4:37 PM.