"Rocky" Raccoon

OK, so I'm driving home from a nice sweaty workout at the gym, and on the side of the road, what do I see?  One of these!

There's all sorts of roadkill in our neck of the woods.  The place is just lousy with raccoons, deer, foxes, squirrels, rabbits, and wild turkeys.  You practically need one of those cow catcher attachments for the front of your car.

But, the little guy didn't look like he had been hit.  In fact, when I stopped, and looked at him in the rear-view mirror, I could see him start to slowly shuffle along.  As his eyes weren't open, this was not a good strategy on his part.  So, I get out of the car, and go back to see if there's anything I can do.  (I know, you're probably thinking - what the heck was he thinking?!)  The poor little critter doesn't seem to be showing any signs of impact, but he's clearly in a dangerous place, and should likely still be back home in the den, being nagged by his sister(s).  So, I'm standing there, talking softly to the little guy, considering my options, and wondering about the odds of contracting rabies or some sort of parasite that will turn me into a zombie.  I hardly noticed the nice lady (Susan) in the pickup truck who stopped as well.  In what may turn out to be the best day of the young raccoon's life, the lady was an animal rescue specialist!  What are the odds?  So, Susan just picks him up like he was a kitten, does a quick inspection, and offers to bring him home for a little medical intervention.  She didn't seem too optimistic, as he should have been at home with his mom, instead of out on the roadside.

Well, here's a big thanks to Susan who not only picked little "Rocky" up, but also (at least) postponed my zombiefication.  Hopefully, everything will work out well for all involved. 

UPDATE:  I just got a call from Susan.  Sure enough, little "Rocky" seems to be coming around nicely.  He's downed a bottle and a half of Susan's special recipe (milk and maple syrup), and he survived his first bath.  So far, so good.  Hopefully, he'll make the progression to baby food/cat food/dog food and will be able to be released back into the wild this fall.  Susan figured that Rocky's mom may have been transporting him from the den for some reason (maybe to avoid the new smart meters or Ontario's HST?) and she misplaced the little guy.

Stay tuned...