Jim Thebarge and his family have been animal lovers since forever!
They find immense joy in feeding the stray cats in their area of Connecticut and have been doing so for the past twenty years.
The generosity of the Thebarge family quickly spread among the animals and it didn’t take long for other animals to come knocking on their door asking for a yummy treat.
The family was more than happy to help, and would never even think of turning an animal in need away.
This was proven when they discovered that something who found itself in a sticky situation came to them for help.
Strange Visitor
One evening, the family heard some strange noises coming from their front door. Since they leave food for the animals on their porch, they thought it was a hungry furry friend helping itself to some yummy food.
“We have heated food and water bowls on our back porch so the cats have warm food and water sources in the below-freezing weather. This and five heated pet beds in our garage in case one of them needs a warm place on frigid or snowy nights,” Thebarge told The Dodo.
However, when they took a peek, they couldn’t really tell what animal it was – it definitely wasn’t a cat or a dog. But, what they could tell was that it needed help as it had a jar stuck on its head.
“We believe that he first appeared knowing that we would help him,” Thebarge said.
Upon further inspection, the family realized that the animal was actually a very confused and hungry raccoon.
The poor raccoon was walking around with the jar on his head, trying to eat and drink out of the bowls with no luck.
The family knew that they needed to help him as soon as possible because they didn’t want him to run away. Even though the raccoon wanted help, he was so confused that whenever one of the family members tried to approach him, he would go into flight or fight mode and try to run.
They started contacting different organizations, trying to get some assistance. Finally, a local Connecticut wildlife rehab answered the call and were on their way to set up a trap in order to catch the raccoon and take the jar off his head.
However, when they finally arrived, the raccoon managed to escape.
When they left, Thebarge had a feeling that the hungry raccoon would come back to the food again so he decided to make a plan and capture him.
Rescue Mission
Thebarge was right! The raccoon soon came back and stepped right into his little trap.
“I tied a rope to the back porch door and ran the end of it out into our backyard. Within 30 minutes of the rescue folks leaving, the raccoon showed up at the food bowl desperate to eat and drink. I was able to pull the door shut with the rope, and he was trapped on the porch. We called the rescue folks, and they came back within 30 minutes,” Thebarge said.
The rescuers managed to approach the raccoon and carefully cut the jar from his head, finally setting him free.
They gave him a quick checkup in order to make sure that he was okay before setting him in the wild where he belonged.
Both the rescuers and the Thebarge family let out a sigh of relief and were overjoyed at the fact that they had helped another animal in need.
However, that wasn’t the last time they saw this little guy.
Two weeks later, the raccoon came back to thank the family for everything they did for him. Now, he comes over every single day, enjoying the yummy food, fresh water, and loving company of his heroes.
Final Word
It is important to remember that raccoons carry rabies and can transfer it to people from a bite.
Since rabies can be fatal, it is very important to remember that if you come across a raccoon or any other animal that you suspect carries this virus, please do not approach them.
The best thing to do is contact your local animal or wildliferescue and let them handle the situation as they are trained professionals.