Check out the little critter that visited us yesterday. It's a baby raccoon. He was wandering around our front yard, obviously scavenging for food so I took it a plate of cat food. Apparently baby raccoons are big entertainment because all of my kids came outside and just sat there and watched it eat.
He wasn't very fast and he didn't seem bothered by us at all. There was a time (long, LONG ago) when I would have taken in that bundle of potentially rabid furry cuteness and raised it as a domesticated pet, bought it little coon sweaters for the holidays, and so on. But not anymore. Five kids is apparently the cure for a chronic case of taking in stray animals. Although, if it had been a bird (particularly a Hawk) I probably would be writing this with a new friend perched on my shoulder. The coon however, was a bit easier to resist, even if he did have sad beady eyes.
I was pretty sure he was harmless, but a part of me was ready for him to realize he'd been lured in to a trap by the yummy goodness of Hills Science Diet and go crazy trying to claw all of our eyes out. I informed the kids that if it made any sudden moves they were to run for their lives. I even told them that coons can carry rabies and if they got bit they would have to get 20 shots in the belly or they would die. Extreme? Maybe. Untrue? Probably. But I couldn't remember all the facts about rabies and Google was not an option, so I had to punt. I'm sure I gave Jonah something good to talk about in therapy. Every time he moved in the raccoons direction I shouted "20 shots!!" in an effort to scare him straight.
After Koo Koon (ya, I named him/her) finished eating he headed for the nearest tree and started climbing. He got about 10 feet high and fell, yes FELL off of it and crashed on to the ground with a THUD! I might have freaked out a teeny tiny bit, and shouted "Get the baby! Get the baby!" because for some reason I felt like Jaden needed to be protected from a two pound dazed and confused orphaned raccoon baby.
Koo Koon finally made it safely to a nook in the tree and we all went inside. Today I wondered what the heck I was thinking sending a defenseless baby lump of love out in to the wild on his own. I passed no less then a dozen dead raccoons on the roads today. I couldn't help but wonder if that is how Koo Koon will end up. I put some more food out in the yard today in case he came back. Tonight I was driving home in the dark and I spotted some glistening spots in a neighbors drive way. "Koo Koon?" I thought.... no, just a soccer ball. Sigh. I guess I'm not as cured from my obsession with strays as I thought I was. Good luck tiny Koo Koon, live long and prosper!
