I'm sure there are parents out there who managed to raise children without also having to raise pets, but Jack and I never mastered that trick. Along with daughters, we raised dogs, cats, gerbils and the occasional rescued bird.
A pet ties you to home. If you travel, even for just a weekend, you have to either take the animal along with you or arrange for its care. So once our last daughter moved out, and the last dog died of old age, we just never got around to getting another pet. On a few occasions, I broached the subject of getting another dog, but Jack was always adamant that he didn't want that responsibility.
"Thirty years of pets is enough," he claimed.
Those were famous last words if I ever heard any. Now, no matter where we are or what we're doing, if we're within driving distance of home, Jack wants to be back at home pretty close to dark.
That's when the raccoons come to dinner.
Over the past couple of years we've watched several crops of raccoon babies grow up. Right now Jack feeds a mama and her five babies, who are growing so rapidly that we soon won't be able to tell them apart from Mama, as well as a few other masked strangers who like our cuisine.
Our record for one feeding is 10 raccoons, but three of those were too shy to come close and they stayed under the deck, reaching their little paws up from under to snatch at the bits of dry dog food we tossed their way.
Internet research indicates that most people use dry pet food when they feed their backyard raccoons. We do the same, buying cheap bulk dry dog or cat food. We've tried different types of fruit, but the critters aren't really interested. They like bread, but not crackers or chips. They absolutely love graham crackers.
Once we threw some stale powdered-sugar-coated lemon cookies out on the patio, and the raccoons went nuts. They gobbled them up. With their sugar-dusted noses, they looked like they'd been playing in the snow. I worry a bit about what sugar might be doing to their digestive systems, so we don't give them too much of it, but it sure is fun to watch.
They also love milk. The first time I put some out in a bowl, just as an experiment, one raccoon put his snout down in it to taste and didn't rise up again until the milk was gone. Another night, I put a little milk out in a small plastic bowl, and a baby grabbed it by the edge, tilting it up high as he ran away with it, and the milk poured down all over his face.
I used to worry about Jack getting so close to wild creatures, but he's careful not to get too near to claws or teeth. He loves spending time with his backyard buddies. You can't be stressed when you're watching raccoons. There's something so appealing about them. Not just the sweet faces, but the ringed tails, the dexterous paws, and the rolling way they walk.
God was definitely in a good mood on the day he designed raccoons.
(Dallas Morning News Neighbors 8-19-06)
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