About Raccoons Once Again
By Marina Kochetova

Raccoons are rightly considered the masters of life in Canada, since there are many of them in this country, and they seem to feel perfectly at ease. But are these seemingly cute little animals really as harmless and charming as they are described in children’s stories and poems, such as this one, for example:

We have a forest raccoon,
He has lived with us for long.
He washes up so neatly,
Wears a bow just like an actor,
Sits down quietly in the corner:
A little chubby woodland fellow.
His ears are soft like velvet,
A white stripe runs along his back.
No creature is more popular
Than the raccoon, the forest raccoon...

I read a note about how a raccoon, a popular Canadian animal, paid a nighttime visit to a substation at the end of March, leaving part of Gatineau without electricity. And that reminded me of another real story about a mischievous raccoon. True, that news has a long beard, but it is still quite curious.

This real story happened right before my eyes a quarter of a century ago, when the expensive Eaton’s store still existed in Ottawa’s Rideau Centre, and I was working there at the time. One day, in some incomprehensible way, by routes unknown even to security, an unusual four-legged visitor made his way into the large store with its many surveillance cameras — an unexpected guest. Apparently, he got inside through the service entrance during unloading, slipping unnoticed into the warehouse area. I think he followed the smell. One way or another, having found himself in the section where delicacies were stored, he discovered shelves full of chocolate and began tasting. Why the forest dweller was drawn specifically to chocolate, nobody could understand. What was interesting was that he did not eat a single bar completely, but he bit into several hundred chocolate bars! It is hard to say how long this feast lasted — it could have taken anywhere from a few minutes to several days. The uninvited guest was caught neither on camera nor in person. No one even imagined what kind of visitor was on the premises of such an expensive and respectable establishment until one of the employees accidentally discovered the lifeless body of the overstuffed animal on the floor... Then the commotion began! They called the police, the animal safety service, even a veterinarian; reports were drawn up, witnesses were sought. As they say, both funny and tragic. The damage to the elite store amounted to several hundred dollars, not to mention the emotional shock in which the bewildered employees remained for quite some time.

Another unusual incident happened on a different occasion, when one of the shoppers came into the store with a snake in her handbag. Entry with dogs, for example, was strictly prohibited. As for snakes, naturally, there were no signs about them. The lady, whose pet was a snake, took advantage of that. And while its owner was distracted, looking at outfits, the slithering creature crawled out of the bag and began its journey across the vast spaces of the huge store. Realizing what had happened, the owner immediately reported her loss to a salesperson, who promptly called security, and all the staff quietly, so as not to scare the snake or alarm the shoppers, began searching for the crawling reptile. It was something else. But it has nothing to do with the mischievous raccoon.

So many things can happen in this life!