OK, so I may have a thief in my bird feeder, but I have a friend who has a bandit in her house. Actually, that should read “Bandit in her house” with a capital “B”. Bandit is actually the name of her raccoon. My friend Jan’s thing in life is rescuing wild animals that need help. She works with an organization named Keeper of the Wild. Keeper of the Wild is a Federally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation, preservation and rehabilitation of South Carolina’s Wildlife. (Sounds like an ad, or like I copied that description from their website.) They really are a cool organization and have even been on TV on Jeff Corwin’s Animal Planet show.
Anyway, back to Bandit. My friend Jan rescues a lot of different animals form raccoons and possums to bobcats and otters, but sometimes for different reasons they are not re-releasable. In the case of Bandit, at least now, she is not releasable because she is spoiled and prefers Pringles potato chips to wild berries. And so now, Bandit is a house-raccoon. Actually, much of her times is spent up in the chimney. I am not sure whether she really likes it up there of if she just likes being able to drop down and scare unsuspecting visitors. Trust me, it works.
So, I thought I would give you a couple of pictures and a warning. For the pictures, you have Bandit at the table and another one of Bandit descending from the fireplace. You know there is something going on when you see a chair in the fireplace. And as for the warning? Never have a pet or other animal for a house mate that has hands or opposable thumbs to open jars, cabinets, refrigerators, purses . . . well, you get the picture. She is a really sweet animal, just make sure to hold on to your valuables.
