Sometimes, there’s a man — er, raccoon — that brings together society in a way that mere mortals cannot.
That man ringtailed bandit reared its head Thursday night in Toronto, bringing the Canadian city to a standstill, united by mourning, love, and acceptance.
[ Related: Pet Store Protest After An Animal Is Beaten To Death! ]
It all started innocently enough on Thursday, when a Toronto resident got on Twitter to tell the city’s services account that there was a dead raccoon on a downtown street, and it needed to be picked up:
@311Toronto There’s a dead raccoon on the sidewalk outside 819 Yonge (at the SE corner of Church).
— Jason Wagar (@jasonwagar) July 9, 2015
The city got the message loud and clear, so all would be getting taken care of soon:
@jasonwagar Thank you for letting us know. This was reported a short while ago and Animal Services has been notified. ^de
— 311 Toronto (@311Toronto) July 9, 2015
Well… no. The man updated hours later that the raccoon had still not been collected:
@311Toronto It’s now after 3 pm and I guess Animal Services hasn’t been by, because someone’s having some fun now: pic.twitter.com/ff0ybbm5cX
— Jason Wagar (@jasonwagar) July 9, 2015
With the delay, a local politician picked up the story:
Please have staff pick up this raccoon at 819 Yonge St, @311Toronto. H/T @jasonwagar. #TOpoli pic.twitter.com/iPSlgRfMwr
— Norm Kelly (@norm) July 9, 2015
And a memorial began to grow for the poor raccoon:
Someone’s having a bit of fun with this poor guy (who’s been there since at least 8:45 this AM). Yonge & Church. pic.twitter.com/4WshUGX4uM
— Jason Wagar (@jasonwagar) July 9, 2015
By night fall, the raccoon still hadn’t been picked up, and the memorial had grown larger:
Candlelight vigil now being held for #DeadRaccoonTO. Picture courtesy of @gavingraham. pic.twitter.com/HrpApfbBfJ
— Norm Kelly (@norm) July 10, 2015
And thus, the hashtag #DeadRaccoonTO was spawned. Flowers gave way to candles as the night moved on, still with no sign of animal control:
. @steviepeters Candles! A vigil! #DeadRaccoonTO pic.twitter.com/eEr54v34wr
— Gavin Graham (@gavingraham) July 10, 2015
The shrine kept growing, though not everyone understood why:
For those curious, #deadraccoonto is still here. His shrine has grown. I don’t understand. pic.twitter.com/gOgd6g90SO
— Shauna Pollock (@misspollock) July 10, 2015
Finally, more than twelve hours later, city services came for the raccoon:
The city of Toronto worker is now preparing to remove the raccoon. #DeadRaccoonTO pic.twitter.com/DASkviOkiE
— Kris Pangilinan (@KrisReports) July 10, 2015
And then there was but a memory of the memorial:
This is what is left of #DeadRaccoonTO pic.twitter.com/PLnqjQfEyo
— Kris Pangilinan (@KrisReports) July 10, 2015
Carry on, wherever you may be now, raccoon. Carry on.
[Image via Twitter.]
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