I saw the interviews with this kid for two days after the incident. While I wouldn't have been surprised if the animal had been a lion, I was skeptical. And the whole samurai sword thing... really? He had time to run all the way home, fetch the sword, and then hit the animal with the dull side? WTF?

Ahh... city folks living in the country.

well geuss there is no hunters/shooters in his family. (always be sure of your target)

good for him for acting quickly in this case

well, here is a prime example of why we need hunting to reach city-folk, cuz HOW in the world do you confuse a raccoon with a mt. lion? I mean...really?

Sound like he got a little excited!! There is a small difference in size, about 70lbs!

I imagine the young lad would've said his dog was attacked by a dragon,if he thought the California Department of Fish and Game wouldn't investigate his claim.

Pit-Bull,German Shepherd Mix?
How is Marquel Dawson going to live life after his friends find out that his dawg couldn't whip the masked bandit?

Mountain Lion or Raccoon? One is just as deadly if not more than the other one! Raccon? Rabies and other deadly bio hazards including raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis).

Not so young engineer say: "When expecting to fight bunnie, load for bear."

A raccoons gotta do what a raccoons gotta do.Id like to hear his side of the story.Pit bulls,samuria swords.its maddness.LOL

wow he really needs to lay off the drugs

facepalm

Doubt it was a cat. Even a very young cat would have had the dog dead and half eaten before he could run to fetch a dull sword. City slickers, you gotta laugh!

I know I don't watch much TV these days, but how did this even make ABC News?
http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/teen-kills-mountain-lion-with-sword-98244...

Haha where did this guy grow up that hes not seen a mountain lion or raccoon...that just boggles my mind that you couldnt know something like that.

This is a result of what I call the wussification of today's youth. That kid needs to put down the cell phone, turn off the Xbox, Playstation, and computer. And go outside. Join the Boy Scouts or other outdoor youth group. I am an Eagle Scout, and in the last 20 years (8 of those I was still in scouts) I have seen boys change from rough and tumble and take on anything, to so babied they cant do anything for fear they might get dirty or a little scratch. But it isn't only the kids that are becoming soft, my mother was a cub scout camp coordinator for years and quit out of frustration that she couldn't schedule physical activities for insurance purposes. But even with that softened state it would have taught him what wild animals look like and what they are capable of, and he may have thought it out and reacted differently. He might have even prevented the whole thing and had his dog on a leash for the protection of everyone around him as well as his dog.
The boy Scout motto is (Be Prepared). Kids today need to master just being smarter than a box of rocks!

I can imagine a kid ignorant enough to think a racoon was a mountain lion; but I can also see this as a bit of grandiose exaggeration on his part that got called out.

Most of the "samurai swords" available are blunt as butterknives and made from inferior stainless steel. I looked at the video and it looked like the fellow had a genuine made in China El Cheapo wallhanger. Hitting something with a piece of rebar would be as effective. Although the young Shugyosa did do a passible Chudan move, other times he handles his sword carelessly. He needs a good Sensei.
Good steel in a sword is available, Cold Steel makes some excellent swords, both Japanese style and many European models too. They have a highly entertaining cutting demonstration video. Shinwa (of China) produces some very sharp folded steel katana at reasonable prices (reasonable being $150 and up, you get what you pay for). Custom swords and heirloom antiques are also to be found if you can pay..
But the sword doesn't make the swordsman. Training and discipline make a swordsman. If you aren't willing to put the time, focus and effort into formal training, you might as well just get a machete. Formal training with Japanese swords in a Dojo doesn't even involve sharp swords, Iaido training uses a specialized unsharpenable sword called an Iaito for kata training. Most forms of Budo (Japanese Martial Arts) feature some form of sword training with wooden swords called Bokken. Sharp swords in Japan are regulated like handguns are here, you can't own one there without a special permit (Nippon has no such thing as a 2nd amendment, but then they ARE Japanese...).
With a proper shinken (sharp sword) that raccoon fairly struck would be dead, cloven deep. Nothing runs away with its skull cut in two. It is Likely a good thing this young fellow doesn't have a good sword, he looks like he might hurt himself with it if he actually had a proper blade...

Reading back through a lot of the comments and the general consensus about today's youth (which probably reflects the general consensus about "kids today" for the last 3000 years) I think we should all be congratulating the kid because he:
1 Was outside
2 Owns a dog
3 Was walking his dog.
4 Took Action

Thumbs up to you, kid.