Canada Journal – News of the World Articles and videos to bring you the biggest Canadian news stories from across the country every day
Twitter can unite people in bizarre ways, and in this case, it was a dead raccoon in the heart of downtown Toronto.
The first mention of the dead raccoon online appears to be a Tweet from user @JasonWagar to @311Toronto at 9:05 a.m. Thursday, noting that the deceased animal was on the sidewalk outside 819 Yonge St.
“Thank you for letting us know. This was reported a short while ago and Animal Services has been notified,” the 311 account responded.
But the raccoon wasn’t picked up, and by 3 p.m., someone had placed a red rose in on of the critter’s paws. A framed photo of a raccoon and a condolence card was also placed by the body.
By 8:20 p.m., the raccoon was still there and the memorial had grown to include more flowers and a sheet of paper for people to leave messages:
Wager’s Tweets were shared hundreds of times and the raccoon spawned its own hashtag, #DeadRaccoonTO.
Of course, Twitter-savvy Toronto Councillor Norm Kelly got in on the action.
After nightfall, someone placed lit candles around the raccoon’s body.
Toronto Animal Services could not be reached for comment.
Agencies/Canadajournal
