Now here's good story for ya....its sure make you laugh, possibly cry too:
I get home from my short saturday work day, grab the gas can for the mower and other yard implements and toss it in my jeep. I go fill it and come back. 10 minutes. When I get back I find that a raccoon, clearly sick and quite possibly rabid, has taken up residence in front of my shed (yeah, where the mower is, and where I had to that point planned on putting the gas can). He is not friendly. He is not happy. He does not want to move from the vicinity of my shed.
How many phone calls do you think it took for me to find a public service willing to deal with this problem....a possibly RABID raccoon problem....on a saturday? If you guessed SEVEN phone calls, you're a winner!
The best call was without a doubt the one that I placed to the fine outstanding folks at the Pennsylvania Game Commission. A nearly verbatim transcript of the call follows:
PAGC: Hello how may I help you today?
ME: I have a raccoon in my yard, he is clearly sick, possibly rabid...what can you do about this?
PAGC: Unfortunately nothing, everyone I have available today is already on a call, and most of them are already doubled up. I won't have anyone until at least late tomorrow possibly Monday. Is there anyone there who can destroy the animal? If so you have our permission to do so.
ME: I'd like to clarify something...by "destroy" I assume you mean "shoot it and put it out of its misery"
PAGC: Yes, that is exactly what I mean.
ME: Well Miss, I do own a couple firearms, I COULD shoot it, but this is a residential neighborhood. I will almost certainly get fined and possibly arrested by my local police for discharging a firearm in a residential neighborhood.
PAGC: I said you had our permission, I didn't say you had theirs. You might want to call them as well.
ME: They are the ones who told me to call you -CLICK-
Our tax dollars hard at work for the community!
