Raccoons get caught in sticky situations
Every day, police officers respond to reports of all sorts of events and nonevents, most of which never make the news. Here is a sampling of lesserknown — but no less noteworthy — incidents from police log books (a.k.a. blotters) in our communities.
TIGHT SQUEEZE
On April 3, Westford Animal Control shared an amusing photo of a raccoon’s rump sticking out of a duck box (which, for those who are unfamiliar, is essentially a birdhouse for ducks). Duck boxes are supposed to provide waterfowl with a safe place to build their nest. This one wasn’t the safest place for a nest because it was accessible to the raccoon, who ended up getting stuck. “A bad start to the week for this raccoon looking for a meal in a resident’s duck box,” the Facebook post said. “Luckily she was able to self-extricate and carry on with her day.”
CAUGHT HANGING OUT
On the morning of Feb. 23, an animal control officer in Falmouth responded to a call about a raccoon that had been in a resident’s backyard for about an hour and was unable to get out. When the officer arrived, he learned why: The poor creature was stuck on a swing. Because its body was draped over part of the swing and none of its paws were touching anything, the raccoon was suspended up in the air and looking quite helpless. That is, until the officer came to save the day, helping the little guy down and making sure he was in good physical shape before letting him go.
FREE BIRD
A hawk that was found injured on Cape Cod back in October was recently able to return to the wild. The hawk had somehow managed to get his leg lodged in the crook of a tree, and was picked up by the Yarmouth Division of Natural Resources and brought to the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable, where he eventually made a full recovery. On Jan. 10, the Yarmouth Division of Natural Resources posted a video on Facebook of the hawk being released close to the location where he was originally found.
LOST CAUSE
At 11:53 a.m. on Feb. 27, Saugus police got a call from someone who saw a white box truck “with the back hatch open with food coming out the back” on Route 1 north in Saugus. Officer Domenic Montano was dispatched to the scene and located the truck, and made sure the back hatch was secured so it didn’t lose anything else on the road.
A HARROWING TALE
At 8:49 p.m. on March 22, Stow police received a call from a motorist who said that while he was driving with his wife, they found a man bloodied and injured on the side of the road. According to the police log entry, the injured man told the couple “he was kidnapped and thrown from a car.” Stow police noted that the incident took place on Brook Street in the neighboring town of Hudson ,so they transferred the call to the police department there. But when Hudson police spoke to the alleged kidnapping victim, he wasn’t willing to talk. Hudson Police Chief Richard P. DiPersio said “the alleged male victim was uncooperative with police, refused to provide any statement, and refused medical attention.” In an effort to ascertain what happened, a detective was able to get in touch with the victim’s girlfriend. “She provided little information,” DiPersio said, “however it appears as though the victim and the alleged attacker are known to each other.”