You can follow the msn link, which is not quite as odious.
Raccoons are complete vermin... As much as I love animals, I can’t stand the pests.
I know what you mean, but...speaking for myself, I cannot help but admire something in Raccoons.
I don’t know what it is...their bold thievery, their ability to survive (except when crossing roads) but something about them appeals to me.
They just can’t cross roadways...like squirrels.
When God created squirrels, I have long thought that he used the angels to help him out, because he was so busy.
He asked angels to do things like design the color palette for rainbows...put the horn on the rhino, the stripes on a tiger, and the trunk on an elephant.
The angels helped him out with these tasks, and did a stellar job, except for one. There was one good-hearted angel, who was generally incompetent. The other angels liked him, and implored God to allow him to take on a project, so God allowed him to design the road crossing algorithm for squirrels.
Well, that is the cross that squirrels must bear on their short time on earth...crossing roads for them is as predictable as flipping a coin.
Heads, you make it. Tails, you get squished by an oxcart or a car, and have the opportunity to discuss the faults in the program with that angel.
That same road-crossing algorithm was probably used to save time in armadillos, possums, and...raccoons!
Years ago I had the first of four Coons over two years time.
Zorro was the 1st. Only a week or so old when I rescued Him from the City. Bottle fed and weaned I was the first thing He saw.
Zorro slept in the headboard, took showers and/or baths, played with the Dogs, ate dog food or anything else you gave him, had his own bag of popcorn (or he would steal mine) while watching TV on the couch. He was like a cross between a Dog and a cat. His favorite food was a dozen scrambled eggs and Pine Nuts.
Zorro would go every where with Me. When He rode in the Suburban I’d roll the Drivers window down and leave a couple of inches still up. He would hold on to the window with His rear feet and the big rectangular mirror with the front feet and ride in the wind with His mouth open, tounge flapping in the wind. The Girls at the Bank would give him Treats. He would ride in the shopping cart at Home Depot. He would play with the Dogs, hanging off their collar with 3 feet while smacking them with the other hand so to make play time more equal I’d take the collar off.
Larry, Moe and Curly are a whole nother chapter.
They would entertain each other.
All four of them left on their own accord when instinct struck them and off to the wild they went.