Toronto may have famously declared war on “raccoon nation” this spring, but on Thursday, Torontonians showed touching sympathy for a fallen enemy.
The first tweet about a dead raccoon on the sidewalk at Yonge and Church Streets was posted at about 9 a.m., prompting a quick response from the city that Animal Services had been notified.
@311Toronto There’s a dead raccoon on the sidewalk outside 819 Yonge (at the SE corner of Church).
— Jason Wagar (@jasonwagar) July 9, 2015
But as day turned to night, the raccoon remained on its back on the sidewalk, prompting a makeshift memorial as more users tweeted about the animal – soon dubbed “Conrad” – under the hashtag #DeadRaccoonTO.
sleep well my sweet prince, people loved you and remember you #deadraccoonto pic.twitter.com/G7erlbktnx
— Chris Hahn (@heyhahn) July 9, 2015
Flowers and notes continued to pile up more than 12 hours after the initial post and even city councillor Norm Kelly chimed in with several tweets urging the city to remove the raccoon.
Please have staff pick up this raccoon at 819 Yonge St, @311Toronto. H/T @jasonwagar. #TOpoli pic.twitter.com/iPSlgRfMwr
— Norm Kelly (@norm) July 9, 2015
Residents are being asked to keep their green bins open tonight in honour of #DeadRaccoonTO.
— Norm Kelly (@norm) July 10, 2015
Finally, at about 11 p.m., a city worker removed the animal and left the makeshift memorial intact.
The body is now being taken away. Pic via @KrisReports. #DeadRaccoonTO pic.twitter.com/n4FnU4IARa
— Norm Kelly (@norm) July 10, 2015
#DeadRaccoonTO is now gone but will never be forgotten. Picture courtesy of @KrisReports. #RIP pic.twitter.com/eWwASq8C5M
— Norm Kelly (@norm) July 10, 2015
Damn. Life's so short.
— Norm Kelly (@norm) July 10, 2015