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.

[DFG]

bookmark

[PA Engineer]

We do our part in PA.

[TomGuy]

Related thread:

Only in Canada! #DEADRACCOONTO

Friday, July 10, 2015 4:45:14 PM · 15 of 15
TomGuy to WakeUpAndVote

from the comments section at the link:

“Coonbaya, my lord, Coonbaya.”

==

LOL

Priceless comments.

[Rodamala]

I dunno if I wrote to you this story, but a couple months ago I was upstairs reading with my kittehs in bed about 45 minutes before dusk on a rainy weekday. Outside I heard a simultaneous thud with screeching tires and right away knew a deer and car had just met out on the road.

I dashed to the bathroom window and saw a guy with a newer Jeep type product out looking at the front of the vehicle... I didn't see the deer. The guy didn't want back or nothing, didn't pick up anything, just got back in the vehicle and drove off.

Right at that time a white SUV was coming past the other way, and the brake lights went on, then off and the white SUV continued to go up and turn around. When I saw it come back, and a woman get out and go to the back of her vehicle, and only then, did I see the deer, thrashing about on the side of the road.

I dashed down the stairs and put on my shoes and headed out. When I got to the end of the driveway, the woman, now in her vehicle, was pulling up and she was LIVID. She was a younger woman, maybe 30-35, and I just remember her going OFF about "HOW IGNORANT CAN SOMEONE BE TO LEAVE THAT DEER THERE TO SUFFER ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!" She said the word "ignorant" a couple times actually and questioned the fact that here she is... A GIRL... and she has to stop see it with 2 broken off back legs and turn around to do the right thing and put the animal down. She was fired up, angry, upset, all that in one.

I appologized that she has to be put through that, and thanked her for stopping to do the right thing, and she departed to turn around and continue on to her original destination, passing me as I walked up to see the deer.

It was awful to see, both back legs broken off at the ankles with the bones sticking out and I just cringed at thinking about the deer frantically trying to get away. Still, there she laid in the ditch, a beautiful huge whitetail doe, she must have been pregnant. I laid my hand on her side and just paused and was so grateful that that woman stopped and put the deer down, and I didn't have to. The doe was wet from the drizzle, but still warm, and I hated thinking about this doe losing its life in a terrifying painful way, and having it go to waste, rotting in the ditch. I took that moment to clear my head, and all the sudden out of my woods on the other side of the creek, I hear shouting or screaming or something.

It sounded like it was on my property so I headed back to my house got in the truck and drove out to the back corner of my property and saw 2 cars parked off the road. It turned out to be some kids horsing around, and they though I was going to tear into them, but I could tell right away they were hunter type people (well, everyone out here is), so I explained how a big doe just got hit 15 minutes ago out on the main road near my field, and if they wanted it, they were welcome to take it. Their eyes lit up, and when I went back to the house, they followed and missed the deer but turned around and I drove out and stopped and pointed at where she was. They thanked me again and loaded the doe in the back of the pickup and off they went to dress her out, I imagine.

I guess the whole point of this whole gruesome tale is that I was just really relieved that in the end that dead deer was going to serve some purpose to someone.

[Jack Hydrazine]

ROFLMAO!

[Jack Hydrazine]

I like the second pic because the raccoon is holding a cigarette. With the flowers in hand and the flowers it looks like he died happy painting the town red!

[MUDDOG]

I see what you mean. That is good!

[Daffynition]

There’s an area locals call *deer alley* ...it’s a couple mile stretch on a four-lane....that apparently deer use as a crossing.

In rush, I was traveling 80+mph in the passing lane, and came up to the top of a hill. Sticking out into the travel lane was a dead deer....and a Oriental group of 4-5 people were standing over the deer, carving it up with a huge knife. They looked very fearful and surprised when I had to swerve to avoid them.

The thought of that incident still makes me laugh. I’m glad the meat was being harvested.

[Daffynition]

[Daffynition]

[1010RD]

What 3rd Worlder would waste the meat?