An Unexpected Visitor...

Last night around midnight, I found my dog Abby standing at the sliding door that leads onto my back porch. Her ears were perked up, her head was cocked to the side, and she was whining quietly. I glanced out the window, but it was pretty dark out there. However, I could make out the shadow of a six-foot-tall shelving unit that's on the porch... and it was rocking back and forth. I ran to the window and flipped on the porch light to see the biggest raccoon I've ever seen in my life!

He was totally caught in the act... I have an airtight dog food storage container on the back porch, and the smart little bugger had figured out how to unscrew the lid. He had his rear end sticking straight up in the air as he balanced himself on the shelving unit and crawled into the storage container to chow down on Abby's food. When I turned on the light, he just stuck his head out for a moment and went right back to the feast!

I scared him off before going out and screwing the lid back on REALLY tight. Then I turned the light off and waited, with all the inside lights off so I could watch through the window. Sure enough... three or four minutes later he was back, and he tried to get that lid off for several minutes before giving up!

But before he left the porch, he sauntered over to the sliding door where Abby was watching. He put both front paws up on the door and stood to his full height, sniffing at the glass. Abby leaned in and began licking the glass... they were inches apart - just separated by the sliding door. Abby never barked once! I think deep-down inside, she just wanted to make a new friend. :)

What I miss most about living in the woods by Mt. Hood is all the wildlife I used to see every day. It's nice to know that there are some wild animals making it, even in the heart of Beaverton!

Perhaps I'll leave a treat out for our new friend every now and then...



UPDATE!! (12/6/08) - He came back again last night, and I was ready for him. I had the porch light on and a camera ready. He spent a loooong time trying to get the dog food container open, and he explored everything else on the porch just in case there was more food stashed somewhere out there. He also came right up to the sliding glass door to check me out. Here are the rest of the pics from this visit... enjoy!