Thinking Back...

There's been this thing going around on Facebook recently where people involved with wildlife have been sharing stories of their own from rescues and/or releases. I've dug up a couple old stories of mine, going back to a time before the existence of Toronto Wildlife. This story here, I actually blogged about a few years back. But in my attempt to share it on social media, I got creative as I tried to shorten the story telling. I threw this all together over a morning coffee. It got a few chuckles from others. Maybe you will laugh too on this very chilly Monday morning in January?

Here we go...

A long time ago, in a city not too far away,
I was at my job in Mississauga on a mid-summer's day,

I was walking along the loading dock,
Passing the dumpster bin,
I could not believe my eyes,
When I looked down within,

Up looked at me, with sadness in his eyes
Was a masked creature,
Who was certainly going to die,

He was seeking a meal,
Smelled something good discarded,
He dropped down to have at it,
No foresight had he,
But don't call him "retarded"

My eyes wide, my thoughts raced,
Back and forth across this dock,
I did pace,

We are in the middle of nowhere,
It was just me and him,
My boss said leave him be,
His future certainly was grim,

I ran to the nearby field along the 401,
I searched the grounds for anything under the hot sun,
I wanted to help, still not sure what to do,
Dammit, I just stepped in deer poo (true story)

I broke the biggest branch from a tree that I could,
It was 4 feet long, not thick, and made of wood (duh),

I ignore the tales of how mean these animals can be,
I know they are smart, let's just keep calm,
and hopefully soon he will be free

I stood above, our eyes did meet,
I began to lower this branch down below my feet,

The Raccoon's eye lit up,
He saw a way out,
And as soon as he could reach,
He gave no thought about...

I froze in the moment,
held that branch tight,
It twisted in my hands,
My what a sight!

He's struggling to climb this branch that may break,
Our eyes stayed locked on each other,
How long will this take?

It was mere seconds, but felt much longer,
I did not think this branch would work,
But obviously it was stronger,

Mere inches from my hands now,
the Raccoon made a leap,
He landed right next to me,
Sat for a moment,
and then away he did creep,

I watched him waddle away,
the big fat lug he was,
About ten feet from me,
He did pause,

He turned and looked at me,
gave me a grateful stare,
He was very thankful I saved his behind,
For that I am aware,

I can still see his face all these years later. How long our eyes were locked on each other in a form of silent communication. It was a life lesson for me on how to handle situations with wildlife... keeping calm is best.