GAUTIER -- Excitement reigned for about 15 minutes Jan. 24 at the office of Dentist Michael Steward when an injured raccoon made a surprise visit to the Gautier-Vancleave Family Dentistry. A patient first noticed the wayward wildlife at the front window. Other patients and office employees were delighted at how close the animal came to the building.
As the mammal made its way around to the north side of the building, people spilled out to watch the slow, halting progress of the animal.
Everyone soon realized why the raccoon did not seem to be in a hurry to scramble away from humans repeating oooh and aaahs and other excited noises.
The raccoon was injured, moving with a pronounced limp through flowers and other scrubbery along the dentistry on Gautier-Vancleave Road.
The Procyon lotor stopped at the back door for a while before making its way again to the front, where cell phone cameras and videos made him the highlight of the day.
The wife of the patient who first spotted the raccoon called animal control, who arrived within minutes, much to the surprise of everyone. There was hope that the animal would be taken care of, and dread that capture could spell its demise.
"You know they've going to put him to sleep," someone commented. Still, Darrenda was hopeful. "You think they will take care of it, huh?"
More drama ensused. After striking out toward woods behind the office, the arrival of animal control sent the "coon" scrambling across Gautier-Vancleave Road, where there were two near collisions as one vehicle stopped to avoid hitting the raccoon, and another behind had to skid to a stop to avoid rear-ending the stopped automobile.
Soon, the rascal was captured, but resisted the leach, pulling back and lying down on the pavement. It didn't matter. He was handily placed inside a cage on the back of an animal control truck and hauled off.
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