Meet Pumpkin, the raccoon who thinks she's a dog

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It’s a dog’s life. Well, sort of. The antics of raccoon who thinks she’s a dog have gone viral after her owners posted a series of pictures on Instagram and Twitter.

The animal, usually a viewed as pests by homeowners, was rescued as a one-month old cub by Rosie Kemp after she fell out of a tree into her garden in Nassau, in the Bahamas, last autumn.

After the cub’s mother failed to appear, she and her daughter Laura Young decided to adopt the raccoon.

Christened Pumpkin, the raccoon has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and now lives with Mrs Young and her husband Richard – along with their two dogs.

"Raccoons are not pets," Mrs Young told animal website The Dodo. "They are wild animals, so they are quite moody. Unlike dogs and cats, they are not domesticated. Like a spoilt child if she doesn't get her way, she will let you know."

Mrs Young added that although she thought Pumpkin was “very happy with us and the dogs” at the moment, the couple planned to always “do what is best for Pumpkin”.

Raccoons, who can carry rabies, are generally regarded as pests and are illegal to keep domestically – except in the Bahamas as there are no animal centres designed to take the animals.