only up north: raccoon rescue

After school yesterday, I was on the computer when Cosmo began barking ferociously from the couch. I, of course, yelled at him, because he always barks ferociously but it's not allowed indoors, but as he leaped down from couch, I saw a glimpse of a small furry animal climbing along the stone ledge of our house, turning the corner towards the flower box. I hustled over the dining room window and saw a baby raccoon peer around the corner. I grabbed the camera, ran outside, and got some photos. The little buddy was moving slowly and awkwardly, so I was very concerned about him.

I got online and found some wildlife rescue/removal numbers, and I called one up. By now, the raccoon sat in the middle of the road. The man on the phone said, "Let nature take its course," and I said, "even in the middle of our neighborhood?" He said being hit by a car would put it out of its misery, as surely it was sick. A car stopped in the road, and I went out to shout out to the driver-- He said call animal control, because the raccoon could be extremely vicious if someone went near it. So, feeling sad that the animal was headed to certain death, I resigned myself to the inevitable and got on google to find the number for Animal Control.

Suddenly, a car drove by quickly and came to an abrupt halt just past our house. The next time I glanced outside, the raccoon was gone! I jogged to the front door and spotted... a young guy carrying the raccoon in his arms, getting into the vehicle. I opened the door and called out, "Is that your pet?" (not sure what else to say), and he said, "Well, sort of," and got out of the car. I walked over to him, and he told me his story. Mama J has a license to raise raccoons, and they just happened to be driving by and spotted this one. At this point, another guy got out of the car, and 2 more climbed out of the back hatch. I was chuckling inside, because they truly looked like a gang of hoodlums... but they were the wildlife rescue teens apparently!

I asked why the raccoon didn't bite, and he said it is truly a baby and hasn't developed any of its senses yet. Vicious my a**! I told the guys that I had been so worried that the raccoon would end up dead, and they told me not to fear, "Mama J knows what to do." I asked, "Is your mom really good with animals?" and was told, "Mama J's not my mom; she's Billy Bob's mom, but yeah, she's good with animals." He offered to let me hold the baby, but I chose to just pet it instead. By now, the car had taken off and the boys were awaiting Mama J's arrival. One of the guys assured me, "Don't worry-- we've got tons of forest behind the house." I smiled in relief.

"There's Mama J now!", one shouted, and sure enough, an SUV was flying towards us. I managed to get a thank you in to Mama J, a middle-aged woman smoking a cigarette, as the head guy handed her the baby raccoon. But the group was too busy making plans for the baby and keeping it comfortable, so I made my way back towards the house... glancing back over my shoulder in awe, fascinated by these local wildlife heroes.