It was a Saturday morning like any other for teacher Alex Peterson. Finally, the weekend had arrived, and she planned to spend it enjoying the activities she loved but rarely had time for during busy school days.
She had no idea the weekend would turn out to be a little longer than usual. The first clue came in an email from her school’s assistant principal.
A wild animal had fallen through a ceiling tile into the building and was refusing to leave. Living in Colorado, where wild animals are not unusual, Alex figured it would be handled without much fuss.
But she was in for a surprise.
An Unexpected Visitor
Later that day, Alex learned that a raccoon was roaming freely inside the school and would need to be caught before Monday so classes could resume. Since it was still Saturday, she assumed the staff would have it sorted out by then.
“We needed to stay out of the building until it was caught,” Alex told The Dodo. “I definitely laughed when I got the email but really didn’t think much of it because we are located in Colorado right by the foothills — wildlife is an everyday thing.”
She went about her Saturday without giving it much more thought, convinced she would be back in the classroom on Monday. But on Sunday, she learned the situation was trickier than she’d imagined.
“On Sunday, we got a second email saying that raccoons are harder to catch than initially suspected, so the building was closed for the entire weekend,” Alex said.
That evening, another unexpected email arrived. The raccoon still hadn’t been caught, and because of that, Monday classes were officially canceled.
Though raccoons can be cute, they can also be very dangerous when cornered, , and they carry the risk of spreading rabies virus through bites.
For this reason, it’s always best to keep raccoons away from homes, schools, and public areas with safe prevention methods.
Still, Alex found the whole thing unbelievable. She had experienced snow days before, but never thought she’d see the school shut down for a raccoon.
“I was cracking up,” Alex said. “I texted everyone I thought would be amused by this news and told them that school was canceled tomorrow for a ‘Raccoon Day!’ I also instantly texted one of my coworkers to see if she wanted to go hiking because we had an unexpected day off, and then another coworker to see if she wanted to go have coffee.”
The surprise day off was put to good use.
Finally “Arrested”
While Alex and her coworkers enjoyed their free day, the students were no doubt just as thrilled.
The only one having a bad Monday was the little raccoon, who was finally “apprehended” by the staff.
“Monday morning we received the text around 9 a.m. that she had been caught — attached was a cute picture of her in the trap,” Alex said. “The classroom she was finally caught in had curriculum materials nibbled on.”
And so, the three-day ordeal came to a close. The raccoon was released back into the wild, and both teachers and students enjoyed what might have been their best Monday yet.
Sometimes, animals really can brighten our lives in the most unexpected ways.