Baby Wildlife Can Be Cool

My Aunt and cousin have a raccoon.
Yup.
My Aunt told me one night they heard this noise outside and it was raining really hard. So, my Uncle went out to look, and realized there was a baby raccoon on the ground by a tree, crying. Of course, my Aunt and cousin insisted on helping the baby raccoon. They started to take care of it, even naming him Tonto.
Well, now my Aunt says that they have him outside in a cage, almost ready to be set free. They're getting him adjusted to the outdoors. They will let him free in about another week, but most likely Tonto won't go too far. He'll keep coming back, since they're his family now.
She also told me the other day my cousin went outside to see Tonto, and he was sprawled out on the cage crying for her to come get him. When she took him out, he actually was HUGGING her around the neck. How cute is that??!!
One day while discussing Tonto, another Aunt of mine reminded everyone about how her kids had a raccoon for awhile once. She said that a year or so after their raccoon left, he came back all of a sudden one day. He had a family now and was strutting them on by to show them he was okay and doing well.

Those are nice stories. Unfortunately, I of course with my luck, have a rabid raccoon outside of my office.
Yup.
He's big, and fat, and scary.
One morning we were here in the office and one of the guys goes, "Hey! There's that big raccoon out there under that car!"
So, we all look and another one of the guys, we call him Pork, goes outside (he's a redneck...as if you couldn't tell already).

1. It was morning, daytime. Raccoons aren't out in daytime.
2. They run from people. This raccoon didn't run.
3. This raccoon stared at Pork like it wanted to come eat him.

Then, finally it ran off. Pork even went out looking around for him.

But now, I live in fear every morning when I come to work.

I can see it's prints in the mud and I envision it popping out and clinging to my face.



Hmmmm...but next weekend I'll get to meet Tonto!