Month: July 2009

  • Poor Little Guy…

    This morning I went for a walk with my husband and saw a raccoon stuck in the window bars of the ground floor of the townhouse next door. You rarely see wild animals in NYC (except tons of pigeons), so I was concerned that the raccoon was rabid or was hurt. The building is being renovated so people rarely go inside. My husband thought it would eventually work its way out since it was squirming around, so we went on our walk.

    We come back 40 min later and it managed to turn itself upside-down. I wanted to call Animal Control right away but then started to think ‘I’m sure someone else called already.’ I think in psychology class there was a term for this displacement of responsibility (forget the official term). So I hurriedly got ready for work and forgot about the raccoon.

    My husband leaves for work much later than I do. When he left 4 hours later, he sent me this picture:

    The raccoon was still stuck in the window bars! I felt sooo bad the little guy was still there. I called 311 (NYC services) 3 times to try and report the little guy but got disconnected each time. Finally, on the 4th try I got connected to animal control and let them know about him. I wonder how long it’ll take for them to send someone. I really hope the raccoon isn’t still there when I get home later today.

    I’m actually really scared of most animals but it really saddens me when animals get hurt or are mistreated. I wish I had called animal control sooner. What do you think they’ll do with him? If he’s not rabid they will probably let him go in the park no?

    ** Update***
    An hour after I placed the call, NYC Animal Care and Control called me and asked me how to get to our apt. I stayed on the phone with them until they located the raccoon. The ACC guy hung up with me once they found him, so I didn’t get the chance to ask what would happen to him. But when I got home the little guy wasn’t there, which was a relief to see. I want to believe he’s frocklicking nearby in Central Park and maybe we’ll meet again one day there.