People In Toronto Created A Memorial To A Dead Raccoon After The City Forgot To Pick It Up

BuzzFeed News ^ | 9JUL2015 | Craig Silverman

[Jack Hydrazine]

Just after 9 a.m. Thursday morning a good citizen of Toronto saw a dead raccoon on the sidewalk. He alerted the city’s contact centre to come get the animal.
The city responded 12 minutes later. Animal Services was notified, they said.
But around noon the raccoon was still there. And someone put a note next to it.

Six hours after being reported to the city, the raccoon was still on the sidewalk. People had started to create something of a memorial to it.



City Councillor Norm Kelly, who is surely one of Canada’s greatest Twitter users, saw the raccoon tweet and also asked the city to take action.
The city replied yet again.
Almost two hours later, the raccoon was still there. Someone wrote #deadraccoonto on a piece of paper. A hashtag was born.
Noticing the hashtag sign, one commenter on this Instagram photo asked, “I don’t get it — is the raccoon trying to go viral?”
People added flowers and a Sharpie so folks could sign a condolences card. It had been more than nine hours since the first tweet to the city.
Close to 8 p.m. the raccoon was still there. Flowers and cards continued to pile up.

The original raccoon spotter passed by again at 8:20 p.m. He tagged the city yet again to get service. His original tweet was posted almost 12 hours earlier.



With the city falling down on the job, the Greatest Tweeting Councillor took over. @Norm bugged the city again.
He thought of a fitting tribute to an animal that is renowned for its compost-bin opening prowess.
And then he dropped a Drake reference.
The raccoon and the seemingly spontaneous memorial to it elicited some strong reactions. @Norm saw an opportunity for humour in the face of municipal incompetence. Others were disgusted with how people treated the dead animal.
This guy thought it was sick and funny.
Though some thought the poor dead raccoon actually brought a city together.

As the night wore on, the raccoon was given a candlelight vigil.



A donation box appeared to help give the little fella a “proper burial.”

And then, just after 11 p.m., a city van pulled up. This freelance journalist was there to capture the historic moment.
Yes, after more than 14 hours lying in the street, #DeadRaccoonTo was about to be taken away.
The worker placed the raccoon in a garbage bag as a small crowd watched, mostly in silence. “Seriously guys, it’s a dead raccoon,” the worker said. He was oblivious to the moment, to how this dead raccoon had united so many.
People lit one last candle.
@Norm gave the eulogy.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

This story gives me hope. Where whimsy, sardonic humor, and shared glibness reside, the spirit to see through the crap of the inane and mundane still flourishes.

[RIghtwardHo]

Hysterical beyond reason.

[Rodamala]

He said, "Rocky, you met your match".
And Rocky said, "Doc, it's only a scratch..."

[MUDDOG]

The first picture’s the best, in its simple dignity.

[Kirkwood]

14 hours is pretty quick.

[AnAmericanMother]

[COBOL2Java]

"Damned right you put up a memorial! Freakin' humans!"

[cripplecreek]

Yeah humor is good in tough times.

I just found this video posted on twitter of a couple of Detroit Tigers making fun of Torii Hunter’s tantrum on the field last week.

https://twitter.com/JoeDavisFOX/status/619622558623596544

[Inyo-Mono]

Kind of sick and funny at the same time.

[hoosierham]

The commissioners in my area ,on both sides of the state line, decided picking up dead animals is a waste!

I have had the experience of seeing “nature” disposing of dead animals quite a few times now. It generally takes at least a couple weeks for a dog and about six weeks or more for the roadside deer to disappear.....meanwhile the sights and smells are not pleasant.

[NonValueAdded]

Roadkill memorials are poised to explode across US / Canada. I’m ready!

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

I’m sorry, I can’t stop laughing.

[Daffynition]

[sagar]

Classic first world problem. Nobody picks up the dead raccoon.

[MUDDOG]

Poor guy! He doesn’t look like he got hit. Hopefully he died in his sleep.

[AnAmericanMother]

I like the optimism of the visitant.

[blueunicorn6]

He died of happiness.

Happiness and the right front tire of a Killer Kia!

[Gefn]

They should come out near me. There’s rotting deer carcasses on the road that have been there for days. They often go close to a week before they are removed.

You learn not to look after awhile,

[Gefn]

Maybe they thought it was a kitteh?

I could see this story if it was a kitteh.