Cruelty

This morning while walking to work, I spotted a clear plastic container (you know, the kind that you can put a couple of pairs of shoes in and then put under your bed) with a lid on it on the little patch of grass between the street and the sidewalk. It was on its side and looked like it had a t-shirt or a pair of socks in it. As I got closer, it looked fuzzier than a piece of clothing, but I passed it up. I don't know what made me do it, but a couple of steps later, I turned around and went back. It was covered in dew (so had been out all night) so I could see what was really in it. I nudged it with my toe, and the dark mass moved inside, but I couldn't tell if it was something alive or if the t-shirt had just shifted when the container moved. I asked Ian if he could see what it was from where he was at, and he could.

It was a baby racoon!

I moved over so I could see, and sure enough, a little masked face was staring lethargically at us. It had moved a little, so wasn't dead, but it definitely had been there for a while since it wasn't scrabbling to get out of the container. We didn't want to open the container because we didn't know if it was rabid or why it was in the container to begin with. I ended up calling Animal Control and asking them to come and pick it up. The woman there didn't seem to understand that the poor little guy would either suffocate or die of heat stroke by lunchtime...I had to explain to her that it had to be picked up in the morning.

What's wrong with people??? To put a little baby racoon in a plastic tub and leave it by the road??? And then for the animal control people to be so uncaring...I just couldn't believe it!

I'm about to walk back home in a few minutes, and I'm a little worried as to what I'm going to find...

***UPDATE: Well, when we walked home, the little critter had been picked up. I hope he's alright...