http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news...toon_couple_fighting_to_keep_pet_racc00n.html
Wendy Hook’s lifestyle changed dramatically when Dennis, her 14-kilogrampet racc00n, joined her family a year and a half ago.
She and her husband, Ron, don’t leave the house unless Dennis can come with them. They’ve attached childproof locks to the cupboards and put breakable decorations in storage. Even their newest furniture looks tattered and worn.
Wendy, Ron and Dennis moved to an apartment in Saskatoon at the start of October. Ron’s job took them there from a town outside Regina.
But when Wendy approached city staff last week to get Dennis licensed, she found out that keeping a racc00n as a pet violated municipal bylaws. She and Dennis have since fled to stay with friends just outside the city limits, for fear Dennis will be taken.
“I’m really getting tired of feeling like a fugitive,” she said. But giving up her beloved pet is out of the question.
“I just can’t imagine what that poor little guy would go through if he was taken away.”
Hook adopted Dennis when Hook’s landlord found two newborn racc00ns on the floor of her barn. The mother wasn’t around, and Dennis had an injured leg, likely after falling from the barn’s hayloft above.
“They were just the sweetest things I had ever seen,” said Hook. “She asked me if I wanted to take them home and look after them, which, of course, I did.”
One died in infancy, but Dennis survived. He’s now 17 months old. Hook said male racc00ns in captivity can live as long as 15 to 20 years.
“We’re committed. It was not a decision we took lightly.”
Hook fed him formula for the first couple of months, and then he started eating what the family was eating. But since his rapid weight gain, Hook has put Dennis on a diet of dry dog kibble.
“He is the most affectionate animal that I’ve ever had,” said Hook. Dennis likes to sit on her lap. He sleeps in the bed with her and Ron at night.
“All the negative stories that you’ve heard about racc00ns, for whatever reason, they just don’t seem to apply to Dennis.”
That’s not to say racc00n ownership has been without challenges.
“I have never had a pet so intense,” said Hook. “He isn’t destructive, but he is curious. He has to touch everything. And he loves to climb.”
The town where Hook is staying with Dennis, Martensville, doesn’t allow pet racc00ns, either. It’s a fairly common problem in most cities, she said. Procyonidae, the family to which racc00ns belong, are also listed among prohibited animals in Toronto’s municipal code.
Hook hopes she can convince the city of Saskatoon to make an exception for her. But if it won’t, they’ll find somewhere else to live. She’s been making calls to other towns. She was even invited by a town south of Saskatoon to plead her case with Dennis at a city council meeting, but it would have been too far from where Ron works.
She’s been getting support from racc00n lovers around the world on a “Dennis R. Hook” Facebook page.
“I hate saying that he should get extra consideration, but you know,” Hook said, pausing for a sigh, “he deserves it.”
Wendy Hook’s lifestyle changed dramatically when Dennis, her 14-kilogrampet racc00n, joined her family a year and a half ago.
She and her husband, Ron, don’t leave the house unless Dennis can come with them. They’ve attached childproof locks to the cupboards and put breakable decorations in storage. Even their newest furniture looks tattered and worn.
Wendy, Ron and Dennis moved to an apartment in Saskatoon at the start of October. Ron’s job took them there from a town outside Regina.
But when Wendy approached city staff last week to get Dennis licensed, she found out that keeping a racc00n as a pet violated municipal bylaws. She and Dennis have since fled to stay with friends just outside the city limits, for fear Dennis will be taken.
“I’m really getting tired of feeling like a fugitive,” she said. But giving up her beloved pet is out of the question.
“I just can’t imagine what that poor little guy would go through if he was taken away.”
Hook adopted Dennis when Hook’s landlord found two newborn racc00ns on the floor of her barn. The mother wasn’t around, and Dennis had an injured leg, likely after falling from the barn’s hayloft above.
“They were just the sweetest things I had ever seen,” said Hook. “She asked me if I wanted to take them home and look after them, which, of course, I did.”
One died in infancy, but Dennis survived. He’s now 17 months old. Hook said male racc00ns in captivity can live as long as 15 to 20 years.
“We’re committed. It was not a decision we took lightly.”
Hook fed him formula for the first couple of months, and then he started eating what the family was eating. But since his rapid weight gain, Hook has put Dennis on a diet of dry dog kibble.
“He is the most affectionate animal that I’ve ever had,” said Hook. Dennis likes to sit on her lap. He sleeps in the bed with her and Ron at night.
“All the negative stories that you’ve heard about racc00ns, for whatever reason, they just don’t seem to apply to Dennis.”
That’s not to say racc00n ownership has been without challenges.
“I have never had a pet so intense,” said Hook. “He isn’t destructive, but he is curious. He has to touch everything. And he loves to climb.”
The town where Hook is staying with Dennis, Martensville, doesn’t allow pet racc00ns, either. It’s a fairly common problem in most cities, she said. Procyonidae, the family to which racc00ns belong, are also listed among prohibited animals in Toronto’s municipal code.
Hook hopes she can convince the city of Saskatoon to make an exception for her. But if it won’t, they’ll find somewhere else to live. She’s been making calls to other towns. She was even invited by a town south of Saskatoon to plead her case with Dennis at a city council meeting, but it would have been too far from where Ron works.
She’s been getting support from racc00n lovers around the world on a “Dennis R. Hook” Facebook page.
“I hate saying that he should get extra consideration, but you know,” Hook said, pausing for a sigh, “he deserves it.”
racc00ns are disgusting....why don't they just have a kid? 
plus racc00ns have a bad temper so eventually that thing will probably turn on them.....they should have just let nature take its course......become a fugitive to 
a c00n brehs 
