Anyone who lives in the suburbs has to at some point deal with local critters running around the yard or messing with their trash cans.
It’s just something that happens and it’s a natural part of life in this environment. If you’re lucky, you might even see a squirrel living in the tree in your backyard.
However, have you ever had the pleasure of actually having wild animals live in your garage or in your house without actually noticing them?
Well, that’s kind of what happened to this family from Colorado, who noticed something odd in their woodstove; so they called Animal Control to help them out.
It’s A Lovely Family
It was an ordinary day for this family when they first stumbled upon a mysterious wild animal in their woodstove. They had somehow climbed in through the chimney.
Without disturbing the animals inside, the family called Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, who sent two animal control officers to the scene.
They realized that the animals had been inhabiting this woodstove for a while. It was almost like an Airbnb for them and they looked very comfortable inside.
The officers, K. Bennett and K. Rupe, told The Dodo: “We laughed at first, because when we first opened the door, mama raccoon was still in the fireplace. We had to shut the door very [quickly]. She ran back up the chimney, and that’s when we were able to open the door and get the babies.”
They put on their gloves and very gently picked up the babies. Then, they took them outside and placed them in a small bush and went back for their mother.
The raccoons were not making a fuss after being carried away, which made the job a lot easier for these animal control officers.
The Family Is Back In The Wild
When they were reunited, the family didn’t leave at first. It wasn’t until the next morning that the homeowner noticed that they were gone.
They believed that the wild animals were now back to their usual habitat and probably wouldn’t disturb the family anymore by jumping in their woodstove.
Or who knows? Maybe they just moved on to another house where they can do the same. It’s impossible to tell, really.
The Animal Control officers emphasize the need to put caps on chimneys, so that the wild animals don’t get into situations like this.
Even though this one incident was a pretty rare one, you never know when something like this might happen somewhere else. It could cause a serious problem.
Nevertheless, this whole situation unfolded pretty quickly and I am glad to see that the Colorado Animal Control officers handled everything so well.