Rocky Raccoon - Revisited

Back in August of 2005, I wrote a post entitled Rocky Raccoon in which I told a story about an unfortunate raccoon who had been trapped by some of the folks that I worked with, and how I reacted to the way they were treating the animal, and, to what they were planning on doing to it...

I am happy to say that the experience apparently had an effect on them. Here's what happened;

On Thursday, The Nose called me in to his office and told me that he had trapped a raccoon at his house, and asked if I would go pick it up and release it back into the wild. He went on to say that he had left strict instructions that nobody but me was to be allowed anywhere near the animal.

He said that he knew that I was 'good at this sort of thing' because I could 'talk to them and all'.

I agreed to release the raccoon and was told to pick whoever I needed to go along with me. I took Fat Cat along, and we went and picked up the trap, loaded it into the vehicle, and drove over to the exact spot where we released the first raccoon. This animal had not been hurt, tormented, or otherwise bothered. It was reaching its little hands through the cage towards me, so I reached my hand out towards it and grasped my index finger with its cold little hand and held on to it. I knelt there for a while, holding hands with a raccoon, and then I simply reached over, opened the door to the trap, and the raccoon walked on out and strolled into the woods, periodically looking back at us.

When we got back to work, I could hear a group of the guys in the back room asking Fat Cat if I could really talk to animals (I cannot, as a matter of fact...). He told them that I in fact did talk to this one, and that it seemed to take a shine to me. They kept asking whether I was speaking in human language or in 'raccoon' (I know how ludicrous this sounds... but, this is what they were asking him...). ((As a matter of fact, I was speaking in the little bit of Lakota {Sioux} that I speak, and in the wee bit of Gaeilge that I speak.. animals seem to like that better than english.. I don't know why... maybe the sounds..)) Fat Cat's response was along the lines of.. "How the FUCK do I know what the hell he was speaking?! It wasn't english, and the raccoon seemed to understand him... so I guess it was raccoon.. Are you done asking me stupid questions!??!", which made me snort and giggle to myself.

I don't care whether I have to put up with a couple of weeks of 'Dr. Doolittle. jokes.. I am happy! They learned something from me, it would seem... they learned to have compassion towards a creature that is unable to speak for itself, and they demonstrated this compassion. The contrast between this instance and last time are absolutely remarkable!!

I feel as though I have set an example of sorts that has gotten through and managed to make a small difference... and that makes me happy!

To see a group of people who were torturing and tormenting a captive, and thus defenseless animal go to a group of people who actively took steps to ensure a similar creature's safety, comfort and welfare is, to me, a magical transformation of sorts!

It is exactly this sort of small triumph, my friends, that a kind, loving, and reverant life is built upon.