I don't know if it's an old country myth, or just something from Where the Red Fern Grows, but supposedly you can catch a raccoon by attracting it with a shiny object: First, you drill a small hole in a log (or use a plastic Dora cup). Next, you hammer some nails into the log around the hole so that they stick out into the hole at an angle (No nails, that's just cruel). Finally, you drop something shiny, like a coin (or a fake plastic hot dog), into the hole in the log (Dora Cup). The Raccoon (1 year old little girl), once discovering the shiny object (fake plastic hot dog) cannot contain its curiosity and reaches into the hole to grab it. Once the raccoon wraps its paw (sticky little hand) around the object (fake plastic hot dog), the paw becomes too big to come out of the hole. All the raccoon (1 year old little girl) needs to do to set itself free is let go of the shiny object (fake plastic hot dog). However, the desire to possess the shiny object (fake plastic hot dog) is stronger than the desire to be free; so the raccoon (1 year old little girl) will clutch the object for days (all while crying and running away from you). Even when the hunter (her Father) returns, the raccoon (1 year old little girl) would rather die (literally) than give up the shiny object (fake plastic hot dog).
We finally just had to shake her hand until she let go of it! All that for a stinkin' fake plastic hot dog.
