7-21-91 —— 10-19-94
I had always wanted to own a raccoon.
Crazy it sounds but to me they are a wonderful breed of animal.
My dream came true. Some log cutters were in the woods and
cut down a tree and the mama ran off and left her 3 babies alone.
The men gathered up the raccoons and one man took one
and the other man took two. My friend called me to say that she
was sitting there on the other end of the phone holding a
baby raccoon that wasn’t over 3 days old.
I drove out to the country and yes I made my dream a reality.
I brought him home and cared for him night and day.
When he opened his eyes I became mama to him.
He knew no different. He didn’t even know that he was
a wild animal.
I named him Racky. When he got big we had to have him
declawed and then defanged. I know that seems cruel but
he lived inside the house with us.
He slept with me in bed and also took showers with me.
I would take him to school for show and tell and he would
just roam the room and open the kids lunch boxes or
get into the their desks and start pulling out crayons and
breaking them into. We then had to have him neutered also.
At the age of 3 he weighed in between 35 and 40 pounds.
He was so pretty and his coat stayed silver gray and black.
I would have people call me all the time and ask
if they could bring someone over to see him.
It was amazing to everyone that I actually had a raccoon
living in the house with me. He loved my kids and would roll
and wrestle with my son and they would go at it for hours on end.
There was a time when we had an ice cream scare because
of some raw eggs that were used and recalled.
But at the same time he got moppy and just wasn’t himself.
By the time I took him to the vet he was in really bad shape.
Finally with x-rays and then actually going in
because the vet thought maybe he had a fur ball in his stomach we
learned that he had a liver disorder. His liver was white and I would
have to change his diet and the way that I cared for him in order for
him to resume a healty life.
But the day I brought him home he was just out of it.
And by that night it was just too late. There was no hope
for him. I just put on some soft music and held him in my arms and
rocked him in the chair. Then he was gone. So this raccoon brought so
much happiness to me. He taught me that dreams could come true
if you really want it to happen. He lived to be 3 years and 3 months.
It tore me apart for the longest. All my figurines and raccoon items
that I had collected I took them down and boxed them up.
At christmas I couldn’t even put all the raccoon ornaments
on the tree either. This happened in 1994.
But since then I thank god for letting me have racky in my life to
learn that even wild animals should be given a chance for a good life.
I am called from time to time when someone has gotten a raccoon
from the wild. I tell them my story but most of all I tell them that in
order for a raccoon to be a good pet that they can never cage them.
I have since thought about trying to raise another one but none could ever
be Racky and I will always have the fondest memories of him.
Thanks for reading my story.
And to anyone that has ever lost a pet just remember the
joy they brought to you and know that they
aren’t suffering any more.
| Racky |