WASHINGTON
The masked marauders are out in force! Batten down the hatches: An unidentified woman living in Poulsbo, Washington, had to call 911 after an army of around 100 raccoons surrounded her home. According to KOMONews, deputies came to her rescue after she was forced to flee by car to escape the peskily persistent varmints, which were pestering her night and day, demanding food. Perhaps it’s merely a coincidence that she’s been feeding local raccoons for 35 years, though according to her, they’ve only recently become a problem. “Somehow the word got out in raccoon land, and they all showed up to her house expecting a meal,” said Kevin McCarty, a spokesman for the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, nbcnews.com reported. Fortunately, there have been no recent reports of rabies in the Kitsap County raccoon community, and no one’s been bitten or injured, except for a neighbor’s dog, who got into a scuffle with one and was taken to a vet. Raccoon infestation is an expensive problem; a trapping company told the woman that it would cost an estimated $500 per raccoon, meaning upward of $50,000 for the whole bunch. The best way to avoid infestations? Remember that it just takes one misplaced “s” to turn a “pet” into a “pest.” SO DON’T FEED THEM. And hire a proofreader.
OREGON
Speaking of wily rascals, someone, or a group of someones, in Bend, Oregon, have been putting googly eyes on public sculptures, The Rogue Valley Times reported. Googly eyes — the stick-on plastic novelty items used for DIY crafts — have appeared on several of Bend’s roundabout sculptures. “Art bombing,” as this has been dubbed, might seem like a harmless and funny prank, but Romy Mortensen, president of the Art in Public Places board, said “isn’t worth the laughs,” mainly because the adhesives used to stick on the googly eyes might damage the art. Jacob Larsen, the city’s communications manager, agrees, adding that removing things like googly eyes and repairing the damage misallocates valuable city resources. “City staff who respond to make repairs to roundabout art are taken away from performing core duties for the community, such as street sweeping, snow plowing and pothole repairs.” Mortensen said that some sculptures were so damaged that Art in Public Places had to bring in a conservator to address the issue. At least they knew who to call; the same conservator had previously restored a roundabout sculpture that was damaged by pineapple juice. “We can tolerate the occasional sweater or holiday attire (to dress up a statue), but when we’re getting into acidic fruits and vegetables, (googly-eye) adhesive or even just outright graffiti, that’s a whole other level we haven’t seen before,” Mortensen said. We can only hope some genius discovers a gentler and less destructive way to enhance public art with giant googly eyes, because frankly, we could all use a good laugh.
COLORADO
It’s not every day that exotic marsupials from the Land Down Under are glimpsed galumphing around the streets of Durango, Colorado. Which is why the call police dispatchers received was so memorable. “Hi. So, I know this is going to sound completely insane. I was just downtown, and I was walking home from work. There is, like, a baby kangaroo with a diaper on, wandering around Main Street.” KRDO aired the Durango police cam footage, which showed a little marsupial hopping down the middle of a dark and quiet street, and yes, it was wearing a diaper. And yes, it was as adorable as it sounds. The juvenile red kangaroo fled its owner’s home after an alarm went off, durangoherald.com reported. Officers can be seen on the police video joking and giggling while in “hop pursuit” of the little joey. The kangaroo’s owner eventually arrived on the scene and safely recovered the errant pet, because, in case you’re wondering, yes, red kangaroos are legal to keep as pets in Colorado, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
WASHINGTON
People who think of their cherished pets as family can now snuggle in peace with them for all eternity, thanks to a unique cemetery in eastern Washington, krem.com reports. Timber Run Reserve, the new cemetery, will cremate you and your beloved pet and lay you to rest together — assuming you’re both dead, of course — either in a memorial niche wall or in the ground underneath a nicely engraved stone. It’s a lovely idea, whether your fur baby is a German shepherd or a kangaroo. No word about raccoons, though.
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This article appeared in the December 2024 print edition of the magazine with the headline “Heard around the West.”
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